


The Fall

by AtowncalledMalec



Series: Fallen [1]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alpha Alec Lightwood, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Angel Alec Lightwood, Angst, Bottom Alec Lightwood, Bottom Magnus Bane, Demon Magnus Bane, F/M, Fallen, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Forbidden Love, M/M, Magnus Bane Deserves Nice Things, Mainly Top Alec, Malec, Mates, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Minor Character Death, Omega Magnus Bane, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Smut, Top Alec Lightwood, Top Magnus Bane, True Mates, Wingfic, Wings, background clace, background sizzy, immortal malec
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-08-02 17:14:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 144,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16309352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtowncalledMalec/pseuds/AtowncalledMalec
Summary: Magnus knows it is forbidden, so why is he unable to stop himself from searching the skies day and night for his wingmate? How can the wings that feel like home be so wrong, when they feel so right when they wrap around him? Why does fate seem bent on destroying him? Will he risk the assent for the angel with the mesmerising white and silver wings? Or will the pull of duty and his place in The Horde of demons force him to deny what he knows down to the tips of his feathers is right?As hard as Alec tries to hide from his fate, he can't stop himself from being drawn back in, unable to ignore the love that could ultimately lead to his demise. Will he face the descent, the fall from The Host of angels for the demon with the beautiful black and bronze wings? Or will the prospect of losing his family take the only chance of happiness he knows he will ever have, away from him? How do you choose between family and love?The characters belong to Cassandra Clare and Freeflop and the plot was inspired by, Fallen, a series by the wonderful Lauren Kate





	1. When Wings Collide

**Author's Note:**

> Hello dears, I'm back!
> 
> Wingfic! I debated whether I should tag this in the Fallen fandom as it is based on the Fallen series by the wonderful Miss Lauren Kate. I haven't because I am not using her characters but let me know if you think I should
> 
> This wasn't the next one I had planned for you, I was halfway through that when writer's block (or should I say a plot bunny) struck. This wouldn't leave me alone so here it is.
> 
> I'm back to what I love writing best, A/B/O! So this one is a little different than my usual. We have some unexpected friendships (and species) but you know how much I like to change things up by now <3 and we have a major, spanning the centuries, Immortal, pinning, angst, love fest coming up. Sorry about that (not)
> 
> As always, thank you for the comments, kudos and hits on my other works and I hope this one will be as well recieved.
> 
> Follow me on twitter at @AtowncaledMalec and come and talk to me there using #TheFallFic and please subscribe so you don't miss updates. <3<3<3
> 
> Please enjoy x

 

 

 

The mortal realm

1600AD

 

Magnus jumped.

The free, heavy, exhilarating feeling of gravity, engulfing him and pulling him down, as his feet left the edge of the outcropping, stole his breath. The freezing wind, screaming through every strand of Magnus’ hair, the anticipatory curl of nerves and excitement, through his stomach, was his favourite part.

The head-first freefall and the ground rising up to meet him, fast, had Magnus laughing, a small, nervous chuckle that burst out of him before his wings did at the last minute. 

His bronze speckled black wings, shooting from his back and spreading out five foot on either side of him caught on a thermal, stopping his fall and sending him soaring.

Magnus angled his body left and spiralled up higher on the thermal, a small, occasional beat of his wings helping him on his way until he climbed as high as the small pocket of warm air would allow.

The peak of the thermal had Magnus stopping his climb, hovering for a few seconds before he wrapped his wings tightly around his body and dropped into a headfirst free fall once more, in a heart-stopping corkscrew that had the blood pumping double-time through his veins and drove all thoughts from his mind.

**

Alec swooped through the clouds, relishing the cool moisture that clung to the tips of his wings. He beat them to gain altitude as he emerged from the cloud, his hands resting on the twin swords sheathed at his hips.

The pommels of Alec’s Adamas blades dug into his palms as his grip tightened when his eyes landed on a heart-stopping sight. _What in the name of The Host is that?_

The thought struck Alec as his instincts went into overdrive at the sight of the black wings.

Dragging his blades from their sheaths, Alec picked up speed. _Why in all the realms of angels, demons and men, would any sane creature do that?_ He wondered, watching the enemy spiral towards the ground in a death drop that had his pulse racing.

A war cry was on the tip of Alec's tongue before instinct had him drawing the sound back. He soared over the thermals, rising and falling with each beat of his white wings, between the pockets of warm air as he raised his swords.

One thought screamed through Alec's mind as adrenaline started pumping through him, preparing his body for battle.

_This one has gone too far by entering the mortal realm, it will not escape._

**

The spinning world, flashing past Magnus’ eyes as he fell, was a sight to behold. It had him laughing again before a flash of silver stopped the laugh in his throat. Instinct took over him, his wings spreading in an instant as his hands automatically reached for the Edomite blades sheathed at either hip.

Magnus’ eyes zeroed in on the enemy, flying straight at him, unable to see it clearly from the sun bouncing blindingly off of the huge white wings and the Adamas blades it was surely carrying. He narrowed his eyes, bringing his blades up as his wings beat furiously to keep him airborne.

Never one to shy away from battle, Magnus launched himself towards the enemy, still a distance away but coming closer as they both picked up speed. A grin spread across his face as fire burned through his veins, adrenaline pumping right along with it. He closed on the enemy, raising his sword in a deafening crash as Edomite met Adamas.

Magnus blinked when his sword crashed down on that of the enemy, staring into the most mesmerising pair of eyes he had ever seen. His arm faltered, his wings pulling him back from the fray, almost of their own accord as his stomach dropped, his breathing stopping completely.

“What… what are you doing in this realm, angel?” Magnus gasped out when he was able to drag air into his lungs, staring at the angel hovering not ten feet in front of him. The angel tried to circle him, staring back, just as hard. The movement had him mirroring the angel’s actions as he looked over every inch of the man.

A ten foot, if an inch, wingspan. The most beautiful pair of wings Magnus had ever had the fortune to lay eyes on, white with incandescent silver tips. Black hair, almost as dark as his own wings. Thick, arched eyebrows above beautiful, wide, expressive hazel eyes. Plump lips and a strong jaw and pale but suntanned skin. And a body that truly befits the status of an angel beneath a black leather, sleeveless tunic and pants, every visible inch covered in glowing golden runes.

“I could ask you the same thing, demon,” Alec said, as soon as he was able to string more than two words together. He couldn’t drag his eyes away from the sight before him. He had never _ever_ in his long existence seen anything as beautiful as the man before him.

A nine and a half foot wingspan, easily. Black wings, the feathers shining in the sunlight, with small bronze speckles radiating from behind his back. Black hair with bronzed tips. Beautiful, angular golden-amber cat’s eyes, lined to perfection with a smokey shadow on the lids. Small but perfect lips, surrounded by a trimmed goatee and a beautiful golden complexion. The demon’s skin-tight black leather vest and pants left nothing to the imagination. Perfection.

 _Wait, what? demons aren’t perfection, they’re… demons._ Alec’s brain screamed at him.

 _He’s an angel, he isn’t beautiful, he’s an angel._ Magnus’ brain, the one part of his body he wished wasn’t working right now, screamed.

Alec didn’t realise he was circling closer to the demon until he felt a wing brush his own. The touch had a shudder running through him, radiating from the tip of his left wing and surging throughout his entire body. He had never felt anything so breathtakingly pleasurable in his entire existence.

Magnus’ arms fell to his side, his grip almost loosening on his blades when the tip of his wing brushed that of the angel. His lungs strained for air at the sensation, a deep pleasure sparking through his feathers and across every millimetre of skin he possessed.

The changing wind, as Alec circled the demon, so close that their wings brushed with a soft kiss of feathers with every beat, shut his brain down completely.

All Alec could register, as his senses took over, was the pulsing pleasure that shot through him at each soft touch of their wings, the beautiful sight that met his eyes, the sound of the wind whispering over feathers and the captivating scent of sandalwood and Omega. _My Omega. My wingmate._

Magnus’ nostrils flared, his eyes widening as he continued to stare at the vision before him when the wind changed. The scent of sandalwood, the perfect match of his own, infused with the intoxicating scent of Alpha flooded his nostrils. _The scent of my Alpha. My wingmate._

 _It’s not possible._ Magnus thought, continuing to circle the angel, even when he should be breaking away.

 _It can’t be._ Alec’s brain cried, telling him to back away, even as his wings drew him closer to the demon.

Alec’s mouth opened and closed, desperately wanting to say something to his Omega, his wingmate, but the words wouldn’t come.

Magnus flinched when his feet hit something solid, looking down to realise that they had landed on the ground. He hadn’t even been aware that they had been descending until the solid earth was beneath him. It did nothing to stop the swirling of his thoughts or the dizzying sensation that coursed through him.

“You’re a demon?” Alec asked, tucking his wings in close to his body. He reached out to steady his mate when he saw the man sway, feeling a jolt shoot through him when he touched the man’s bare arm.

“You’re an angel,” Magnus said breathlessly, his arm shaking in the jolting grasp of his mate. _Mother of demons, that voice!_  He thought as he tucked his wings in, sinking to the ground at the same time as the angel.

Magnus knew that he should be protesting at the touch on his arm, that he should be drawing the swords he had sheathed at some point during their descent but he couldn’t bring himself to follow through on either action. Not when the touch felt so right, not with that deep, husky voice making the thought of harming the angel abhorrent to him.

Alec sat when the demon did, unable to stay standing on his shaking legs. Reluctance to withdraw his hand had him keeping hold of the demon’s wrist, the man’s soft, insistent voice playing on a loop in his head. The voice that was just as beautiful as the lips the words fell from.

“I didn’t believe it, I never thought the legends were true,” Magnus said, desperately wanting to touch the man’s face, wanting to see if the skin was as soft and smooth as it looked. “I thought it was a myth, that it couldn’t be instant, just like that, that the knowledge would just… be there,” he murmured.

“Me either, I thought it was ridiculous, that you could just look at your mate and know,” Alec said, his eyes trying to take every inch in at once. “I didn’t expect it to be… instantaneous, one touch, one look, one… lungful of your scent. It’s… it’s undeniable, frightening…” _Impossible. Utterly right._

“How did this happen? We shouldn’t be… can’t be mates,” Magnus said, turning his wrist in the angel’s grip to wrap his fingers around the man’s wrist. It didn’t feel impossible. The skin beneath the pads of his fingers felt right, felt as though the Alpha’s hand was meant for his.

“I know,” Alec said, his voice barely more than a whisper. It went against every law, every covenant in existence. The Host did not mate with The Horde, to do so risked the descent. Angels and demons were not meant for each other. “We… can’t…”

Magnus nodded. There was nothing else he could do. He was supposed to be backing away, drawing his sword and battling his enemy lest he risk the ascent. _My enemy_.

The thought was repellent to Magnus. How many centuries had he spent battling angels? More than he could count and now, faced with his mate, he could no more draw his sword to strike the angel down than he could use it to end his own existence.

Alec let his fingers brush over the soft skin in his hand, trying to comprehend how he was supposed to hate the man sitting before him. Centuries battling demons lay behind him. Centuries more, of the same, lay before him. _And yet, the thought of harming one hair on…_

“What’s your name?” Alec asked, realising that he didn’t have a clue what his mate’s name was. He watched every minute movement of the demon’s lips when he drew a breath before speaking, wondering what they would feel like against his own.

“Magnus, what’s yours?” Magnus asked, a smile ghosting his lips when he realised he kept referring to the angel as the angel in his head. He didn’t miss the way the Alpha was staring at his lips, his own eyes wondering to the plump lips that opened to reply. They were perfect.

“My name is Alexander, Alec for short,” Alec said, crossing his legs to sit more comfortably. His eyes darted down when he felt Magnus’ knee against his own when Magnus mirrored his movement.

“Alec is nice but I’ve always thought it best to call things by their proper name. I like Alexander better,” Magnus said, sighing a contented breath when Alec didn’t pull his leg away.

“Why were you flying like that?” Alec asked, his brow furrowing at the memory of Magnus’ freefall. He didn’t like it, the sight on a loop over and over again in his head. Magnus could have hurt himself.

“For fun, I like the weightless feeling in the pit of my stomach as I fall,” Magnus said, wanting to push Alec’s eyebrows back into the two arches that they had been before.

“Fun? What would be fun about that?” Alec asked. _Maybe my mate has taken one too many blows to the head during battle._

“Don’t you fly for fun?” Magnus asked, his eyes darting up to look at Alec’s beautiful wings, the wings that hadn’t retracted. They were stunning, the silver tips of them refracting the light with a prismatic effect that was stealing all of his self-control. He wanted to feel them against his own again. _Don’t do it, Magnus._

“Fun? We don’t have wings for fun,” Alec said, watching Magnus pull his long wings back, from where they had been dipping towards his own. He consciously made an effort to do the same before his eyes found Magnus’ again. “They are for flight during battle,” he said.

“That sounds… miserable,” Magnus said, unable to hold the truth back as it spilt from his mouth. The thought of not flying for pleasure was sad, nothing made him happier. “Do all of the warriors of The Host feel the same? Do you not enjoy flying?” he asked, realising that he had never really spoken to an angel before. _Not like this anyway._

“Of course I enjoy flying, I love it but… but…” Alec trailed off. _Why don’t I fly for fun?_ He wondered, imagining just letting loose like Magnus had.

“Why are you in the mortal realm?” Magnus asked, watching the surprise roll through the pretty eyes that shot up to meet his. He ignored the fact that he wasn't supposed to be there himself, the realm being neutral ground between their sides that neither was able to lay claim to.

“This is where I come to clear my thoughts,” Alec said shiftily, knowing that he shouldn't be there. And that Magnus shouldn't be either. He watched Magnus, barely able to remove his eyes from the Omega.

Alec hadn’t spent much time thinking of what it would be like to have a mate, having never found his amongst The Host of Angels, he had simply assumed he didn’t have one. _This is why I never found him, my mate isn’t an angel, he is a demon._

“What about you? Why are you here?” Alec asked, hoping that Magnus wasn’t about to tell him he was there to prey on humanity. He was already breaking his creed by not immediately slaughtering the demon.

“This is where I come to escape my Father,” Magnus said without thinking, wishing he could visit the realm more often. He almost flinched at the unexpected snarl that tore from Alec’s mouth. His grip tightened on the Alpha’s wrist, his wings dipping forward to brush the tips of Alec’s when Alec's runes glowed brighter.

“What do you mean?” Alec almost growled. The sensation of Magnus’ wings on his own worked to calm the anger that had spiked through him. “Why do you need to hide from your father?” he asked, shuffling closer to his Omega.

“My father is Asmodeus, he is a prince of hell. As his son, certain expectations are placed upon me,” Magnus said. _The expectation to be an Alpha. The expectation to follow in his footsteps. The expectation to unify the realms of hell. Maybe_ _it's best not to mention any of that._

“Your father is Asmodeus? You are a prince of Edom?” Alec asked, Magnus’ words banishing the visions of a shadowy figure causing his mate harm. He let out a sigh when Magnus nodded, his wings fluttering against Magnus’. The sensation was astonishing.

“Its… something else, isn’t it?” Magnus said when he looked up at their wings, dark and Light feathers almost tangled together. “It should look wrong but it doesn’t, does it?” he whispered, barely daring to say the words aloud.

“Nothing has ever looked more right,” Alec said, his eyes dropping from the tips of their wings, arching over their heads, as though their wings were separate entities, seeking comfort in each other. It was a conscious effort to pull them back, the action copied by Magnus. He retracted his wings, thinking it safer to do so rather than let the contact continue.

Magnus retracted his wings when Alec did, his heart aching when the white wings disappeared from sight. He winced along with Alec when his wings sunk back into his body, his skin closing over the exit points. It was not a pleasant sensation, something he usually only did to sleep or sit comfortably.

Alec already missed the black wings, wanting nothing more than to brush his fingers through the soft looking black feathers and inspect every bronze speckle on each feather. He knew it was for the best though, their wings seemed to have minds of their own.

“What are we going to do?” Magnus asked, looking up into Alec’s eyes, seeing his own fears and… desire mirrored in the hazel eyes that stared back. He had always expected to mate a demon, whichever demon his father picked out for him from whichever realm Asmodeus wanted an alliance with. He had always thought the myth of destined wingmates was bullshit.

 _How wrong I was, if Alexander isn’t my mate, I’m an angel._ Magnus thought, shaking his head at himself, at his own ridiculous expectations.

“What can we do? We can’t mate,” Alec said, knowing the situation was impossible. He couldn’t help the small spark of disappointment that shot through him when Magnus just nodded. He could see the same disappointment cross Magnus’ features. _The prettiest features I’ve ever seen._ He thought, gazing into Magnus’ pretty amber eyes.

“We must part ways then,” Magnus said, seeing the same reluctance he himself felt in the sad nod of Alec’s head. “Before we do, will you do something for me, Alexander?” he asked.

“Anything,” Alec said, surprising them both with the readiness of his answer, some instinct in him driving him to please his mate, the mate he couldn’t have. He didn’t expect the distraught feeling, the bone-deep loneliness that he had never felt before, to rear up. He had always been happy with his lot, hadn’t he?

“Will you fly with me? Just for a little while, for fun?” Magnus asked, feeling as though he would miss Alec when they parted. _How odd, how do you miss something you never had, or indeed had the expectation of wanting?_ He wondered.

“Yes,” Alec said, the word coming out of his mouth before his brain could wonder if it was a good idea. He stood, pulling Magnus up with him by the hand still wrapped around his Omega’s wrist.

Magnus was almost startled by the closeness of his Alpha. Maybe he would have been if the thought that they were too far apart hadn't struck him at that moment. He could scent that heavenly scent again, the mixture of sandalwood and Alpha and angel, it was a heady thing.

Alec let his wings unfold, sighing as they shot through his skin. The pleasure of the freedom he felt when they weren't restricted by his body far outweighed the slight pain as his skin tore open.

Magnus just about managed to keep his hands to himself when Alec's wings came into sight again, unfurling his own wings and stretching them out. He let his eyes fall closed as they brushed the edge of Alec's once more.

The image of them mating flashed behind Magnus’ Closed lids. It had him wondering what it would feel like, to pull one of his feathers from his wing and replace it with one of Alec's silver tipped white ones. It was a pretty image. _Pity, it can never happen._ The thought had him opening his eyes.

Alec wondered at what had put the desolate looking frown on Magnus’ face. If he had to guess, it would probably be the thought of never being able to exchange feathers, of never being able to mate one another. It had disappointment flooding him, imagining what one of Magnus’ bronze speckled black feathers would look like in his wing.

Alec shook the redundant thought off, wrapping his wings around himself and bending his knees, centring every ounce of his angelic strength to push off from the ground. He shot straight up into the air, rising fifty feet, faster than the time it took to blink, a huge grin spreading across his face when Magnus did the same.

Magnus let a giggle escape him when he unfurled his wings a split second before gravity took a hold of him once more, looking down to see Alec do the same five foot below him, catching himself before the fall. He tilted his body when Alec did, laughing at the way Alec hovered parallel to the ground below them.

“See, fun,” Magnus murmured when he came face to face with Alec, almost chest to chest. He liked the way Alec looked when he hovered, almost lying on his back beneath him in mid-air. He shivered every time their wings brushed when they beat them, content just to hover there for a moment.

“If you insist,” Alec said, looking up into Magnus’ eyes, seeing the joy there. He had never thought to see joy shine from a demon’s eyes but there it was, as plain as sun glinting off of the Omega’s black wings. He reached up, brushing the tip of his finger up Magnus’ cheekbone, memorising the feel of Magnus’ skin. It was just as soft as it looked.

Magnus instinctively leaned into the touch, something he wasn’t used to doing with anyone but his closest friends, touch wasn’t something that was pleasurable in the realm of Edom. He let himself feel the connection with another being for a few moments before the levity of their situation had him pulling back.

Alec pulled his hand back, understanding why Magnus had pulled away from him, even if he didn’t like it. He grinned up at Magnus to hide the hurt that crashed through him, seeing Magnus do the same. Even if it didn’t reach Magnus’ eyes, the smile was still beautiful.

“Do you want to race?” Magnus asked as he shook himself off, a gleam sparkling in his eyes when he took off before Alec could even comprehend the words. He laughed when he heard a strangled cry behind him, beating his wings furiously to take advantage of his head start.

Alec soon got over the shock, turning in mid-air and shooting forward with one powerful beat of his wings, going after his Omega. He laughed when he rode the thermals, saving his energy to catch up to Magnus.

Alec’s head twisted, trying to follow his progress when Magnus flew circles around him, twisting in that corkscrew again. Just the sight of it made him dizzy before he threw caution to the wind and followed suit.

“See, it is fun, Alexander,” Magnus called when he looped under Alec and flipped his body to be able to look up at Alec. The blinding smile on his Alpha’s face was like nothing else he had ever seen, Alec’s face flushed red, a small dimple forming in his cheek that was just as cute as the one in his nose.

“Catch me if you can!” Magnus yelled before taking off once again to distract himself from the thought of what it would be like to kiss those dimples. _Probably_ _breathtaking!_ He flew faster, looking over his shoulder to see Alec closing on him.

Alec’s smile faded when Magnus looked over his shoulder, a clear challenge in his shining amber eyes. Something changed in Alec, a need that he had never felt before rearing up. The need to chase an Omega. _My Omega._

The thought had Alec picking up speed as the hunt took over. He beat his wings harder, rocketing after his mate, watching a shudder run through Magnus when the demon looked over his shoulder again.

It took a moment for Magnus to realise what he had done and even less time for his instincts to take over, the need to make the Alpha work for it coursing through him. He dropped into a death drop, wrapping his wings tightly around his body to drop faster.

Alec copied Magnus’ move, his heart pounding as he fell. He had flown with his wings close, when engaging in aerial combat, before but never like this.

A small part of Alec’s brain, the tiniest cell that was still working properly, registered the madness of the manoeuvre but the majority of it, the part ruled by his Alpha instincts, had a point to prove. He needed to prove to Magnus that he was strong, fast, that he would be willing to take chances if it was required of him, that he could protect his mate and would give his life to do so.

Magnus pulled out of the drop with plenty of time to spare, unfurling his wings when he dropped over a thermal. He used the warm air to soar to the next one, turning to watch Alec’s progress. His breath caught in his chest when Alec pulled out of the dive fifty feet below him, at the last minute, rising beneath him on the thermal. _He is magnificent!_

The sight of Alec rising fast below him had Magnus taking off once more, the Omega in him putting the Alpha through his paces.

Alec put on a giant burst of speed, seeing Magnus turn in the air once more. It pushed him to fly faster, the Alpha in him, momentarily appeased by the display he had put on for the Omega, once more taking over.

Magnus looked down, letting a growl of approval escape him when Alec was suddenly there, wrapping his long arms around his body. His wings went limp when he was in Alec’s grasp, dipping to the Alpha in submission as shocks ran through his body at the feeling of being in Alec’s arms.

“You caught me,” Magnus murmured, his lips three inches from Alec’s as they rose, close enough to feel his Alpha’s breath on his face, even in the cold wind that rushed over them. He looked into Alec’s eyes, shuddering at the blown pupils looking back at him.

“I caught you,” Alec said, marvelling at the almost weightlessness of Magnus in his arms as he carried the Omega through the air. He leaned into the touch when the tip of Magnus’ wing brushed his cheek, feeling the touch in the marrow of his bones.

Magnus couldn’t help himself, desperate to feel any connection he could get with the beautiful angel holding him. He brushed the tip of his wing down Alec’s face, caressing his strong jaw with one slow sweep that was like a balm to his wing.

“We can’t,” Alec murmured, even as his hand came up to cup Magnus’ cheek. He swept his thumb across Magnus’ cheek, seeing the acceptance of the situation on his eyes.

“I know, I just wanted to do it once,” Magnus said, allowing himself a few moments to lean into Alec’s touch, knowing that it would never happen again. “Goodbye, Alexander,” he said, his eyes closing of their own volition, not wanting to see Alec fly away from him.

“Goodbye, Magnus,” Alec whispered, leaning forward when Magnus’ wing disappeared from his cheek. He pressed his lips to Magnus’ forehead, not daring to allow himself to touch the lips that he wanted to kiss badly. He broke away when Magnus spread his wings, confident in the knowledge that Magnus was stable enough for him to let go.

 _You can’t miss something you’ve never had, I can stay away from him._ Alec used that thought to force himself to climb, to return to his own realm. _It would have been nice to have a mate but it just wasn’t to be_. It was with that thought that he found the strength not to look back.

 _You can’t miss something you never wanted, we can resist each other._ That was what Magnus told himself as he flipped in the air and dropped once more, visualising a pentagram in the dirt to open a portal back to his own realm. _It is for the best, the risk is too great to take, for both of us._ The thought was the only thing that gave him the strength not to look back.


	2. The Expectations Placed Upon Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Take note of Clary and Simon's eyes, those will be important later!

 

Magnus thought about pinning himself to his bed with magic. He had never faced a temptation like Alec before and was finding his self-control slipping. The need to go searching for his Alpha had been slowly eating at him for a week. It was an almost unbearable need that had driven him to cut himself off from everyone. 

Not that they were willing to let him be.

“Go away,” Magnus yelled at the insistent banging on his door, rolling himself further into his sheets and burying his head in his pillows for good measure. He rolled his eyes when the banging continued before the door banged open, wishing she would just leave him alone. “I said go…”

“I heard you, Magnus,” Clary interjected cutting his protest off. She pulled Simon through the door after her, ignoring the way he wrinkled his nose. She ignored the smell, kicking the door closed behind them and pulled Simon over to the bed.

Magnus sighed when he heard a whoosh, indicating the retraction of their wings before they wormed their way into his sheet cocoon. The futility of protesting was clear when Clary’s wild red hair swept over his face and Simon’s bony knee found its way into his ribs.

“Must you always wear brown, Simon?” Magnus sighed at the Alpha when he saw Simon’s brown leather vest, the colour of his protective clothing offending his sensibilities, he much prefered the forest green of Clary’s leather outfit. He knew he was being petty when Simon spluttered but he couldn’t help himself.

“Why are you hiding from us?” Clary asked, propping her head on Magnus’ pillow to look into his eyes when he turned to her, seeing the way they shifted away from her.

“I’m not hiding, I’m tired,” Magnus mumbled, turning over to escape the other Omega’s penetrating, fiery red gaze. He rolled his eyes when he came face to face with Simon on his other side, the completely black eyes staring back at him just as inquisitively.

“You’ve been holed up in here for like a week. What’s wrong with you?” Simon asked, raising his eyebrows when Magnus rolled onto his back with an irritated sigh.

“Talk to us, Magnus, we’re not going anywhere until you do,” Clary said, scooting closer to one-half of her best friends and wrapping him up tightly, grinning when Simon did the same.  _ If he won’t answer, I’ll force it out of him.  _ “Is this about Camille?” she asked, almost sneering the other demon’s name.

“What about Camille?” Magnus asked, turning his head to look at Clary, seeing her eyes drop. He turned to Simon, his friend refusing to meet his gaze. “Clarissa, answer me. What about Camille?” he asked when he turned back to her, a shudder running through him at the mention of his ex’s name.

“You didn’t know? She… she is coming to Edom during the next blood moon, at your father’s request,” Clary said, hating to be the one to break the news to him. “You would have known that if anyone had seen you over the last week,” she said, pointedly raising her eyebrows at him.

“Why? What does my father want from her?” Magnus asked, turning to Simon. If there was anyone in this realm who would know the latest gossip and rumours, it would be him.

“There is a rumour going around, that your father wants an alliance with Eidol,” Simon said, wincing when Magnus snarled.

“Seriously, he thinks I would mate her? That Edom and Eidol could ever be allies?” Magnus growled, sitting up in bed to stare at his friends.

“It’s just a rumour,” Clary said when she heard the anger and disbelief in Magnus’ voice, the anger was practically rolling off of him in waves. “Wait, where are you going?” she asked when Magnus wrestled his way from beneath the sheets.

“To see my father,” Magnus said, keeping the snarl to a minimum as he rifled through his closet for clothes.

Magnus walked into his washroom and filled the large bowl with water, with a wave of his hand, having the quickest wash of his life before wrestling his damp body into a pair of red leather pants and a matching vest. His wings shot out of his back in his anger.

Clary climbed from Magnus’ bed when he emerged from the washroom, applying his makeup and fixing his hair with a few snaps of his fingers. She warned Simon with a look when he made to shuffle from the room, grabbing Simon’s wrist to stop him as she unfurled her wings.

Simon’s sigh was audible when Clary’s eight-foot wingspan took up the space he was trying to occupy, glaring at the black and copper layers of feathers of her wings as he unfurled his own.  _ If you can’t run away from them, might as well join them. _

Magnus’ eyebrow shot up when Simon’s wings shot from his back, a titanium sheen to the black feathers catching the light as he nudged Clary out of the way with a smirk. Simon’s ten-foot wingspan took up a large portion of the room as he once again flapping them in Clary’s face.

“Where are you two going?” Magnus asked, not needing to look over his shoulder to know they were following when he stalked from his room, taking to the hallway’s of his father’s home to go in search of the demon himself. He was fairly sure he knew where he would find Asmodeus.

“You didn’t think you were going alone, did you?” Clary asked, her right wing dipping forward to nudge Magnus’. “Magnus, come on, you should know better than that by now.”

“I know, biscuit,” Magnus muttered, giving her wing a nudge back with his own. “Are you coming too?” he asked Simon.

“Of course, Clary would have my wings if I didn’t,” Simon said, slinging a wing over Magnus’ shoulder. He grinned when the corner of Magnus’ mouth quirked up.  _ Doesn’t exactly reach his eyes but I’ll take it.  _ He thought when Magnus shrugged him off.

Magnus pushed through the large wooden double doors that led to his father’s pretentious throne room.

“Why have you summoned Camille?” Magnus asked without preamble when he saw his father, lounging on his throne, finding that it was always best to get straight to the point where Asmodeus was concerned.

“Nice to see you too, Magnus,” Asmodeus said, turning to look at his son when he burst through the doors. He surveyed Magnus, rolling his eyes at the angry glint he found in Magnus’ eyes. “So, the prodigal son returns to us, at last. What have you been sulking about?” he asked.

“I asked you a question, why have you summoned Camille?” Magnus asked, deflecting his father’s question with one of his own. He refused to look away when Asmodeus rose from his seat, eyes flashing a dangerous yellow, his own eyes flashing in return.

“Watch yourself, Magnus,” Asmodeus said, leaning on his cane to walk closer to his boy, his wings unfurling at the challenge in Magnus’ eyes. “I didn’t “summon” Camille, I invited her. She will be staying with us as an honoured guest,” he said.

“For what reason?” Magnus asked, his eyes darting to Asmodeus’ midnight black wings, twelve foot across and not a secondary colour to them. He refused to bend under his father’s gaze, Alpha demon prince his father may be, he bowed to no man.

“Do I need a reason to invite the denizens of other realms to be my guest?” Asmodeus asked, stepping closer. Anger rose at Magnus’ defiance, his son's eyes once again flashing. “You forget yourself, this is my realm and I will do as I please within its bounds,” he said.

“I will not mate her,” Magnus said, stopping his father in his tracks. If he couldn’t take his true mate he would take no mate at all.  _ And it’s only your realm because Lilith left it behind without a backwards glance.  _ He almost spoke the thought before he reigned himself in.

“Who said anything about mating?” Asmodeus asked, his eyes darting to his son’s friends, quietly flanking him. His gaze landed on Simon, seeing the way the other demon’s eyes refused to meet his.

“I will not mate her. You know our history, you know how she treated me when we were together. If I am doomed to an eternity, it won’t be spent with her,” Magnus said, once again capturing his father's attention. He could practically feel Simon squirming at his left flank.

“You will mate who you are told to mate. If I decide I need an alliance with Eidol, then mate her you shall,” Asmodeus said, ignoring the gasps of his son’s friends. “Come now, you know Camille. As you said, you have a history together, at least you know exactly what you are getting,” he said.

“If she is so great, why don’t you mate her yourself?” Magnus asked, folding his arms across his chest to stare his father down.  _ You’re welcome to the traitorous, spiteful bitch.  _ The words were on the tip of his tongue.

“You think I want to be stuck with her?” Asmodeus asked, the words coming out before his brain could engage as anger once again swept through him. “You play a dangerous game, my son. Nobody else would dare talk to me in such a way. I need an alliance with someone,” he said, breathing heavily through his nose.

“I will mate your son,” Clary said, stepping forward and looking Asmodeus in the eye. She loved Magnus enough to save him from an eternity with Camille, it might be a platonic love but it was love nonetheless. He would certainly receive no love from Camille. She smiled when Magnus gave her hand a squeeze.

“Tell me, Clarissa, has your father gained himself a realm that I am unaware of?” Asmodeus asked, staring at the girl. He laughed when her smile faded and she shuddered at the mention of her father.

“You know he would never take a realm, he hates demons, he’s not about to try and rule over them,” Clary said, refusing to back down from Asmodeus. Her father hated his punishment, forced to spend an eternity as a demon after his banishment from The Host.  _ And he hates me for being one too. _

“Is he still hoping his beloved Raziel will take him back after all of these centuries?” Asmodeus asked, turning to take his seat once more, bored of the histrionics of his son and the girl. “Your father's hubris was bound to be his downfall. Raziel never was one to forgive or forget,” he said with a grin.

“And to think, you could have been born an angel, if your father weren’t so proud of his heritage or your mother too weak to wave him goodbye,” Asmodeus said, dismissing Clary before turning on Simon. “What about you? Are you willing to mate my son?”

“I totally would if it would save him from a life of misery,” Simon said. He loved Magnus as much as Clary did, even if it was as platonic as her love. “Unfortunately, my father’s realm was taken from him,” he said, silently fuming at Asmodeus for making him say it when Asmodeus knew perfectly well that Lilith had destroyed his father and taken his realm, leaving Edom to Asmodeus.

“Ah yes, nasty business,” Asmodeus said before dismissing Simon too and turning back to his son. “I have not made my decision yet but mark my words, Magnus, if I need an alliance with Eidol, you will mate her,” he said before waving his hand and turning away from them.

“Edom will freeze over before I tie myself to that devil,” Magnus said before turning his back on his father and bending a knee. He pushed off from the ground and launched himself through the roofless opening, taking to the orange skies.

Clary took one last look at Asmodeus, seeing the flash of his eyes before bending a knee and taking off after Magnus, Simon hot on her wings. She followed Magnus, catching up to him as best as she could, her wings weren’t as long as his.

Magnus turned in the air when he heard wings at his back, ready for his father. He sighed, a tight smile ghosting his lips when he saw it was his friends.

“Thank you both, for offering but I won’t be mating anyone,” Magnus called out over the rush of wind when they caught up to him.

“Why don’t you just mate one of us? There’s nothing he can do about it once the deed is done,” Simon called back, drawing level with Magnus on his left flank, hands on the pommels of his Edomite blades. “It's not like any of us have mates, might as well take advantage of the fact,” he shrugged.

“One day, you will both meet your mates, what will you do if you’re stuck with me?” Magnus asked, trying to keep his tone light as he looked from Simon to Clary, smiling for them when they both rolled their eyes.

“Don’t you think we would have met them by now?” Clary asked with a chuckle, trying to imagine taking her demon mate home to meet her father. The day she turned up with a demon was the day Valentine finally lost his grip on the last shreds of his sanity.

“Please excuse me, I need some time to think,” Magnus said as his stomach clenched, unable to look either of them in the eye, he had never kept anything from either of them before. The only thing stopping him from spilling his guts was the fear that someone else would find out.

Magnus shook his friends off, flying ahead of them with one almighty stroke of his wings, the wings he hadn’t stretched in almost a week. There was only one place he could be alone with his thoughts, the mortal realm.

**

Alec spun on the spot when he heard a thud behind him, his swords raised in defence. It was an automatic reaction. He lowered them when he saw it was his brother, Jace, landing five foot behind him in the arena, his breathing starting to settle at the sight.

“I thought I would find you here,” Jace said, raising his eyebrows until Alec sheathed his blades. He folded his arms across his chest, tucking his gold streaked white wings close to his body to watch his brother. “You’ve barely left the training arena in a week. What’s going on?” he asked.

“Nothing’s going on, I’m training,” Alec said, avoiding Jace’s eyes as he made his way over to his things, picking his sleeveless tunic up. He retracted his wings to pull it on, watching Jace pull his own ten-foot wingspan into his body. “We have to be ready,” he said with a shrug.

“Ready? Are you expecting an invasion? You’ve been training day and night,” Jace said, following Alec. He wasn’t buying what Alec was trying to sell. “I’m not stupid, I know there’s something wrong, I know you too well,” he said.

“Drop it, Jace, there’s nothing wrong,” Alec said, looking up when a shadow fell over him. He held back his sigh when a flash of rose-gold caught his eye, one of them was bad enough. “Izzy, the arena is free, have fun,” he said to his sister and brother, spreading his wings.

Izzy’s whips were in her hands the instant she landed, the tips of both of them curling around Alec’s wrists with a flick of each of hers. She ignored the glare to address her brother, her golden runes blazing brighter than her eyes.

“You aren’t going anywhere until you tell us what’s wrong,” Izzy said, yanking hard on the whips when Alec tried to shrug the electrum off. “You have been avoiding us for the last week, barely saying a word. Spill,” she said.

“As I said to him, I’ve been busy with training,” Alec said, gesturing to Jace with a jerk of his thumb. He turned to his sister, sighing when the Omega tucked her rose-gold marbled white wings behind her back, clearly intending to have it out with him.

“All week? You’ve barely eaten or slept, you’re going to burn yourself out, Alec,” Izzy said, ignoring the annoyed inflexion in Alec’s voice, she was worried about him.

“We are warriors of The Host, we must be prepared. Maybe the two of you should spend a little less time gossiping and a little more time on your own training,” Alec said as he unwound the whips from his wrists, dropping them just in time to materialise his shield.

“There’s nothing wrong with our training,” Jace said, watching the dagger he had just let fly embed itself in the Adamas shield that had appeared in Alec’s hands. “Dammit, I need to come up with some new moves,” he muttered.

“Predictable, Jace,” Alec said, pulling the other Alpha’s dagger from his shield and launching it back at him, watching Jace catch it. “You always do that little manoeuvre with your wrist before you materialise your daggers,” he said.

“The demons don’t know that though,” Jace said, flipping Izzy off when she snorted at him. He had his own shield in his hands in an instant, bringing it around to shield his body a split second before five thuds slammed into it. “Five! Really?” he asked, peeking over the top of it.

“Testing your reflexes,” Alec said with a smirk, nocking another arrow when he saw Jace’s face peek over the top of his shield. He let loose before giving Jace a break.

“He nearly got you that time,” Izzy said, her eyes gleaming for a split second when Jace started pulling arrows from his shield before rounding on Alec once more, curling her whips around her arms. “Nice try, now spill,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Alec sighed, taking in his sister’s stance, her long black hair flying in the wind and her arms crossed over her tiny, skin-tight white leather top.

“You do realise that the point of our clothing is to protect us, right?” Alec asked, narrowing his eyes at the ridiculous amount of skin Izzy had on show, hoping to distract her once more.

“Alec!” Izzy said, the warning in her voice clear, ignoring his slur on her awesome clothing. “We have given you a week but enough is enough. Talk to us,” she said, following Alec over to the tiered benches that surrounded the interior of the arena, watching his every move when he took a seat.

“Izzy, I’m fi…”

“I  _ know  _ you’re not fine Alec, you are lost, I can feel it from the marrow of my bones to the tips of my wings,” Izzy said, cupping both hands to Alec’s cheeks and tilting his head up when he took a seat, to look into his eyes. She bent and pressed her lips to his forehead.

Alec fought tears back when he felt power radiate from Izzy’s lips. He curled his fingers around her wrists as her calming presence washed through him before he pulled back, kissing the backs of her hands before he released them.

“Thank’s Iz,” Alec whispered. He gave her a tight smile when she took a seat next to him on the bench, Jace taking a seat on the bench below them. He appreciated it when they didn’t bombard him with questions right away, letting him gather his thoughts.

“Do you guys ever think about flying for fun?” Alec asked, a dull ache sitting in the pit of his stomach when they looked at him like he had sprouted an extra pair of wings.

“Why would we fly for fun?” Jace asked, wondering if Alec had worked himself beyond his limits over the last week. “The Host doesn’t fly for fun, we are warriors,” he said, seeing his own confusion mirrored on Izzy’s face.

“Imagine Raziel’s face if we suggested flying for fun,” Izzy chuckled when Jace shrugged. She turned to Alec, seeing the sad look on his face. “Wait, you’re serious?” she asked, trying to imagine just flying around for the fun of it.

“Maybe our wings were meant for more than just getting from A to B? Meant for more than just carrying us in battle?” Alec suggested, rolling his eyes when they only looked more confused. “We wouldn’t enjoy flying so much if we weren’t meant to,” he said.

“What brought all this on?” Jace asked, wondering where the odd question had come from. Alec was the least likely of all of them to engage in frivolous fun.

“Nothing, just something… a friend said,” Alec said, affecting a nonchalant shrug, pretending like he didn’t feel empty at the thought of his mate, as he did each time he thought of Magnus. There was a constant hollow feeling inside him like something vital was missing, he thought about Magnus a lot.

“What friend?” Izzy asked, pouncing on Alec’s statement. She grinned at Jace, seeing the intrigue in his eyes. “Was this friend a man? Who is he? Oh, I’ll bet it was The Keeper, he is cute! You know he would totally name one of those stars for you!” she said.

“The Keeper of the Stars?” Alec asked, unable to keep the grimace from his face as he stared at his sister. “You can not be serious!” he asked. He literally couldn’t think of an anyone less suitable than the angel tasked with protecting the stars. He was plain and boring, the complete opposite of Magnus.

“What? He’s nice! You could do a lot worse for a mate,” Izzy said, rolling her eyes at the look on Alec’s face before looking closer. She couldn’t decipher the expression, it looked like a cross between disbelief and… longing.

“What about The Bringer?” Jace asked, materialising a dagger and spinning it on the palm of his hand, laughing when Alec turned on him. “At least life wouldn’t be boring with The Bringer of Knowledge. You could sit around and learn all kinds of useful…”

“Not you too! Don’t encourage her,” Alec groaned, giving Jace the death glare when he laughed. Why his sister had taken it upon herself to try and match him up with every eligible bachelor The Host had to offer was beyond him. “I won’t be taking a mate so drop it,” he said.

“Alec, it’s been aeons since you’ve even looked at another angel, never mind gotten laid. Don’t you think it’s time to settle down? Maybe we should revoke the title of The Avenger and just call you The Bachelor,” Izzy said with a sad shake of her head at her brother’s lack of a love life. “Why wait when you could have your pick?” she asked.

“I mean ever, I won’t be taking a mate, period,” Alec said with a shrug.  _ As if I could just settle down with some random angel when I already have a mate, a beautiful, fun, intriguing one. _

“Where’s your mate? Go and find your own mate, instead of trying to force one on me,” Alec growled when Izzy looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Both of you,” he said, including Jace.

“The innocent won’t defend themselves,” Jace said quickly, horrified at the thought of settling down with one angel.

“Oh yeah, what would the Innocent do without their great Defender?” Alec asked, his eyebrow quirking up at his brother’s willingness to shrug off the mere thought of a mate. He would have taken Magnus as his mate in a flash if Magnus had been an angel or if he had been a demon.

“I’m still holding out for my true wingmate,” Izzy said, telling herself that she was perfectly content with her role as The Protector. “Why settle for some random? I haven't met every angel yet, he could still be out there somewhere,” she shrugged, privately wishing he would hurry his ass up.

“Plenty of us settle for “some random” it’s better than waiting for some mythical, destined being to show up,” Jace said, taking hold of Izzy’s hand when he saw her shrug. Izzy played the field as hard as he did, the difference between them being that she was lonely and he wasn’t.

Alec chose not to comment. He had always thought the idea of a true wingmate was a myth, usually rolling his eyes whenever Izzy mentioned the concept. The fact that he had met his own had since changed his mind.

“How can you say that? What if you mated someone then your true mate comes along and you’re stuck with the angel you settled for?” Izzy cried, shaking her head at Jace, he was doomed if he thought like that.

“Sorry for opening my mouth! Sit around pining for someone that doesn’t exist if you want, I’ve got better things to do with my time,” Jace said.  _ Like living my existence to the fullest! _

Alec tuned out Izzy’s reply, letting her affronted tone wash over him. He didn’t want to listen to them bickering over the pros and cons of waiting for their mates to come along. He didn’t want to be part of the conversation period.

Alec wondered what Magnus was doing instead. A horrible thought struck him then,  _ what if Magnus mates some random demon as some sort of attempt to get over not being able to take his true mate? _

The thought had Alec jumping to his feet, unable to sit there any longer, too agitated to sit down. Too agitated to pace even. He unfurled his wings, bending his knees to take off, needing to fly it off.

“Where are you going, Alec?” Izzy asked when she saw her brother about to leave. She unfurled her own wings, her rose-gold marbled white wings spreading out four and a half feet either side of her.

“The gardens of solitude, I need some time alone,” Alec said over his shoulder, warning his sister with a look when she made to come with him. He nodded to his brother when Jace took her wrist in hand, stopping her from following.

Alec pushed off from the ground, climbing fifty feet in the air before he spread his wings, leaving his brother and sister behind. He soared over the fountains of life, completely ignoring the gardens when he flew over them. He had no clear destination in mind as he flew, letting his wings dictate the path.

It seemed his wings had decided on the mortal realm when he left the heavens behind, dropping faster than his heart had at the thought of Magnus taking another mate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think those angelic titles are all about? we will learn more about those in the next chapter. Also, a week was a long time to resist!


	3. A Futile Resistance

 

Magnus was lost in thought, barely registering the mountains he flew over. He hadn’t realised where his wings had taken him until he saw the moonlight reflecting off a large lake below him. He banked left, continuing his flight over the lake, heading for the next mountain range.

The outcropping loomed up, his stomach dropping as his eyes landed on it. He touched down on solid ground, landing on the mountainside he had visited the week before. A small sigh escaped him as he looked around.  _ Why am I even here? _

Magnus settled on the edge of the outcropping he had taken his freefall from, letting his legs hang in mid-air. The feeling of hard rock beneath his hands grounded him as he sat, trying not to dwell on the swirling mess in his head, desperately trying not to think of his father's last words to him and failing miserably.

“I will not mate her,” Magnus screamed into the pervading silence.  _ I will not mate her. I have a mate, if I can’t have him, I’ll have no one! _

The thought had been repeating over and over in his head, trying to override the harrowing image of one of his feathers in Camille’s mottled grey and black wings.

A shudder ran through Magnus just at the thought of it. The image of one of her feathers in his own wing was even worse. He tried to banish the image, staring out over the lake in the distance, wondering how his life had come to this.

A rustle of wings above him had Magnus’ mind going blank, his stomach dropping when he heard a light thud. He didn’t need to turn to know who had landed on the cliff behind him, he could scent his Alpha.

Alec tucked his wings in close to his body when he landed, staring down at Magnus, sitting not five foot in front of him. He took a moment to admire the sight, moonlight glinting off the bronzed speckles in Magnus’ black wings before stepping forward. The hollow feeling in his stomach seemed to fill up when he scented his mate as he took a deep breath

Alec took a seat on the edge of the cliff, his lurching heart settling into place when his right wing brushed Magnus’ left one. A small spark of disappointment shot through him when Magnus’ wings disappeared into his body.

Alec silently took Magnus’ hand in his when Magnus turned his hand over between their bodies, his fingers naturally sliding into place and interlocking with Magnus’, as if they had done it a thousand times before.

Magnus’ eyes slammed closed when Alec’s right wing wrapped around him, he didn’t have the strength to keep them open, not with how right it felt. He turned his head when he felt Alec shuffle closer, burying his face in Alec’s neck when their bodies pressed together.

The proximity of his Omega, the breath warming the skin of Alec’s neck had his own eyes closing.  _ This is how it should be. How can it be so wrong when it feels so right?  _ He felt it in every cell of his body, the rightness of Magnus being so close, the way they fit so perfectly together.

“Magnus, I…”

“My father wants me to mate someone else,” Magnus interjected, wondering why he felt the need to say it, to make Alec as miserable as he felt.  _ Loneliness. The need not to have to suffer the knowledge alone.  _ His brain supplied. The growl that erupted from Alec had him pushing his face further into Alec’s neck, inhaling the calming scent of his wingmate.

“Are you going to?” Alec asked when he had gotten control of himself, he felt as though he had been punched in the gut. He dreaded the answer to his question, hating himself for asking but needing to know. He met Magnus’ gaze when Magnus wrenched his head back.

“No! I can’t… I could never...! Even the thought of it makes me feel sick,” Magnus gasped out, knowing his eyes were flashing as his emotions spun out of control. He could barely breathe at the thought of taking someone else as his mate, especially Camille, she was pure poison.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. I know I could never take someone else as my mate,” Alec said, unable to stop himself from raising his free hand. His breath caught when Magnus leaned into his palm, his thumb brushing over Magnus’ cheekbone as he stared into those astonishing amber eyes.

“You have every right to ask,” Magnus said, brushing his thumb over the back of Alec’s hand, holding it just that bit tighter. “The… woman he wants me to mate, we have a history, a bad one. Even if I were able to bring myself to take another, it certainly wouldn’t be her,” he said.

“Why does he want you to mate her?” Alec asked, kicking himself for torturing them both with the question.  _ Does it even matter why? _

“He wants an alliance with another realm. The realms... the demons that rule over them... it’s a constant battle. One has to be ruthless to keep one's realm. One of my best friends, Simon, his father was slaughtered when another demon decided she wanted what Simon’s father had, forcing the rest of his family to seek refuge in our realm,” Magnus said with a sad shake of his head.

“Angel’s aren’t the only ones we battle, we fight and wage war amongst ourselves more often than not. With an alliance, with two realms tied to one another, my father secures his hold on his own realm and has the denizens of another to call upon should another demon decide to come for what is his,” Magnus said, shaking his head.  _ Who gives a shit about ruling over them? _

“So he just expects you to mate this woman, to stay in power? Why doesn't he just mate her himself?” Alec gritted out, fury washing through him at the thought of someone being forced to mate against their will for politics, especially his mate.

“I asked the… Alexander, you’re glowing,” Magnus said, pulling back to stare at Alec. Every inch of his mate was glowing, Alec’s silver wingtips and the golden runes on his skin impossibly bright. The glow would crush any mortal that happened to look upon Alec at that moment, only his own power saved him from fading into obscurity.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it, it's not right!” Alec growled, pulling his power back, the need to pay Magnus’ father a visit was almost all-consuming. He probably would have if Magnus hadn’t moved closer just then.

“It’s beautiful,” Magnus said, staring into Alec’s pretty eyes, watching Alec gain control of himself. “What is your place within The Host?” he asked. He already had his suspicions, just from the way Alec had reacted the week before when he had mentioned hiding from his father.

“I am The Avenger,” Alec said, noting the barely perceptible nod of Magnus’ head as he fought his power back.

“The Avenging Angel, the seeker of justice. You have been tasked with protecting those that have been wronged, to seek justice for those that can not seek it themselves?” Magnus asked. The nod of Alec's head had pride blossoming in his chest.

“Tell me more,” Magnus said. He knew that he shouldn't be asking but he wanted to know everything about Alec's life, even if he wasn’t allowed to have the angel himself.

“My sister, Isabelle, is The Protector of Lost Souls. She is amazing, powerful, strong-willed, the most caring angel I know. We were created together, along with our brother. Jace is The Defender of the Innocent, powerful and charismatic and completely aware of himself. The three of us were created to protect those that can not protect themselves,” Alec said, not even trying to hold back the love he felt for them.

“They sound amazing,” Magnus said, hearing the pride and love in Alec’s voice, it had his own pride welling up, that his Alpha was such an important part of The Host along with his family. He was happy that his mate had people he cared for, that Alec wasn’t all alone up there.

“They are. What about you? Do you have any other family, besides your father?” Alec asked, intrigued by his mate. He had always thought of demons as the enemy, having never once thought that one could be his mate. The battle between their people had raged since the fall of the first Angel.

“My father is the only blood family I have. My mother… my mother, a mortal, killed herself when I was a child. She couldn’t abide the idea of spawning a demon,” Magnus said, the old ache for his part in his mother’s death rearing up once more. He looked up when Alec’s wing tightened around him.

“I’m so sorry,” Alec murmured, tightening his hold on Magnus when he saw the pain on his mate’s beautiful face.  _ Why did I even bring it up? _

“It’s fine, it happened centuries ago,” Magnus said, breathing Alec’s scent in as he pushed down his guilt and sadness. “Asmodeus sent his demons after me, taking me into his realm off of the streets, informing me that the mortal realm wasn’t for demon prince’s,” he said.

“What about other family?” Alec asked, remembering the emphasis Magnus had put on the words “blood family”.

“Clary and Simon. I’ve already told you about Simon, he talks non stop and has terrible taste in clothes but he is as loyal as they come and quite witty when he wants to be. Clary is my other best friend. Her father, Valentine, was banished from The Host aeons ago, forced to live as a demon. The three of us grew up together, they are my family in all but blood,” Magnus said.

“Clary is Valentine's daughter?” Alec asked, raising his eyebrow when Magnus nodded. “The Harbinger of Death. As important as his role was, the heavens don’t mourn the loss of him, although, his mate choosing to go with him was a blow we still feel. The Keeper of Hidden Truth’s was irreplaceable,” he said.

“Jocelyn hates Edom as much as Valentine but she chose her lot,” Magnus said with a shrug. He had always thought Jocelyn was crazy for following Valentine but he understood now.  _ I’d follow Alexander to the lowest realm of hell or the highest peak of the heavens… if I were allowed to mate him. _

“Clary could have been an angel if her father’s arrogance hadn’t forced him to face the fall,” Alec said, musing on the twist of fate that had laid out the demon’s future for her.

“We all could have been angel’s... if we were not forced to pay for the sins of our fathers,” Magnus mused, wondering what his life would have been like growing up with The Host instead of The Horde and what his place there would be.  _ I would be able to take my mate, if not for my father’s fall from grace. _

“Clary is just as loyal as Simon. She has a tendency to act first and think later but I couldn’t ask for two better friends. They offered to mate me, to save me from an eternity of misery with Camille,” Magnus said, chuckling at his friend's offers.

“They would have given up their chances of finding their own true wingmates?” Alec asked, not particularly liking the thought of Magnus mating one of them either but thankful Magnus had people willing enough to make such a sacrifice for him, it spoke volumes about Magnus and the people he counted as family.

“They too think the idea of true wingmates is a myth. Although, it does make sense why Jocelyn followed Valentine into the depths of hell. They must be true wingmates,” Magnus said, finally truly understanding Jocelyn’s decision.

“What about your brother and sister? Are they mated?” Magnus asked, turning so that he could face Alec. He caught the smile and the roll of his mate’s eyes.

“My sister is still holding out for her true mate. I think my brother is horrified by the idea of mating. He’s been a bachelor for aeons and still hates the idea of being tied down. He’s gone through half of The Host, they both have, but ask him to settle down and he would fight you to the death,” Alec chuckled.

“They have been worried about me, I’ve been avoiding them over the last week. They tried to ask me what was wrong. How do I tell them?” Alec asked, searching Magnus’ eyes for the answer to his impossible question“I don’t know. Clary and Simon did the same. I’ve never hidden anything from them before but what’s the point of talking about something that can’t happen?” Magnus asked, wishing desperately that things could be different.

“I hate it, not being able to talk to Izzy and Jace, I’ve never kept anything from them before either,” Alec said, sighing at having to pretend with them. It didn’t sit right with him. “They wouldn’t understand though. They keep trying to set me up with random angels. They don’t mean any harm but even the thought of it…”

Magnus gripped Alec’s hand harder, pulling his Alpha closer as a growl built in his chest, hating the idea of Alec mating anyone else.  _ He’s my Alpha! _

The wave of possessiveness that washed through Magnus was both surprising and felt utterly right all in the same breath. He moved closer as images of Alec with random feathers in his wing ran through his mind.

“Believe me, I have no desire to mate anyone else,” Alec said as he pulled Magnus flush against him, smiling when Magnus practically crawled into his lap. His fingers found the soft strands of Magnus’ hair when his Omega’s head found its way into his neck again.

“Sorry, I just… I don’t like it,” Magnus mumbled into Alec’s neck, inhaling Alec’s scent. His eyes closed when Alec’s neck rune glowed, too bright for him to look at.  _ This feels so right. Like this is my place. I just want to stay here forever. _

Magnus knew that they were dangerous thoughts, thoughts that promised misery when they had to part ways again but he couldn’t find it in him to care.

“Me either,” Alec said, wrapping both of his wings around them, wishing they could hide from the rest of existence behind them. A shiver ran from the tips of his wings and shot down his spine when he felt tentative fingers brush through his feathers.

“So soft, just as soft as I thought they would be. And beautiful. I think you have the most beautiful wings I’ve ever seen,” Magnus said, swirling his fingers through the soft down, close to the quills of Alec’s feathers. He pulled his hand back when the wings beneath his fingers started to shake. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he said, staring into Alec’s eyes.

“Don’t apologise, it… it feels amazing,” Alec said, breathing hard. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Sure, others had touched his wings before but never like that, so close to his quills.  _ All it would have taken was one quick yank to remove one of… don’t go there!  _ He banished the thought before it could take root.

“Anyway, my wings are nothing compared to yours. Can… can I see them?” Alec asked, ignoring Magnus’ scoff. He was hoping the question wasn’t too personal, that he wasn’t going too far. A smile lit his face up when Magnus scooted back and turned around, unfurling his wings.

Alec watched Magnus’ wings push out through his skin, wanting to reach out and touch the long vertical scars on either side of the red leather material of Magnus’ vest. He would have if Magnus’ wings hadn’t pushed out at that moment.

Alec scooted closer to Magnus’ back, bending his head close to inspect the beautiful wings. His eyes wandered over each feather, marvelling at the bronzed feathers, close to where they joined his back, and the large speckles of bronze, so close to the colour of Magnus’ eyes, that got smaller as they radiated out in lines to the tips of Magnus’ wings, like little starbursts of colour in the dark feathers.

Magnus had thought Alec’s breath on his wings was pleasurable but it was nothing compared to when Alec touched them. He clutched his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and burying his face in his knees as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Small bursts of pleasure travelled over his feathers, sending shivers through his entire body.

Alec traced the edge of Magnus’ wings, his fingers running from the place where they joined with Magnus’ skin right along the edges, as far as his arms would reach.  _ So beautiful and soft. I could touch these wings for the rest of my life.  _ He had to fight every instinct in him not to lean the last inch or so to kiss the soft feathers.

A soft, stuttering sigh, escaping from Magnus, had Alec pulling his hand back. They were playing a dangerous game, one where there were no winners. Just two losers that would inevitably end up hurt. He accepted it when Magnus retracted his wings once more.

Alec presence moving away from him had Magnus leaning back, needing to be close to him. He didn’t want Alec moving away, knowing that they shouldn’t be getting close but unable to help himself. His heart leapt when Alec moved closer again, a long leg falling either side of his own as Alec pressed up against his back.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” Alec murmured, even as he pulled Magnus closer. His mate’s warm back, pressed up against his chest, felt too nice to let go of.

“I know,” Magnus said, staring out over the vista as he settled against Alec. He watched a night bird, probably an owl, dip low over the lake far below them as Alec’s warm breath tickled his ear, sighing in contentment. He pushed down the fear that had been gnawing at his insides to enjoy the moment, knowing that it couldn’t happen again once it was over.

Alec settled his chin on Magnus’ shoulder, wrapping his arms around his mate and inhaling the calming sandalwood/Omega scent that seemed to be working some kind of magic over him. His thoughts and the churning of his stomach settled as he relaxed into Magnus’ back, watching a bird dip low over the lake and scoop something up before flying away.

“Do you think there’s any corner of the universe that we could hide in?” Magnus asked, imagining a life with Alec, a life where they were mated and happy.

“Maybe, perhaps we could hole ourselves up on one of the planets? We probably could if The Keeper wasn’t such a party pooper,” Alec said, smiling when a small chuckle escaped Magnus. “The Keeper of the Stars is a snitch, he would probably tell on us if he found us hiding on one of his stars,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Shame, I’ve heard Uranus is nice this time of year,” Magnus chuckled, turning his head to look at Alec. He wiggled his eyebrows when Alec let out a full on belly laugh.

“Really? You’re going to make butt jokes right now?” Alec asked, laughing at the ridiculous wiggle of Magnus’ eyebrows. He laughed harder when Magnus joined in, his stomach jolting when he saw the carefree expression on his mate’s face.

“I never joke about butts, Alexander. I take them very seriously!” Magnus said, wiping the tears from his eyes, happy that he could make his Alpha laugh. He realised he hadn’t seen Alec’s butt, wondering if maybe he should have a look.  _ For observational purposes, of course. _

“You’re ridiculous,” Alec said when a pensive look settled in Magnus’ eyes, watching the way his mate’s cute lips tugged up at the corners. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the image of him leaning down and claiming those lips.

“I’m witty,” Magnus corrected his Alpha with a chuckle. The laughter died on his lips when he looked at Alec, finding those pretty hazel eyes glued to his lips. It had his own eyes wondering to Alec’s imagining pressing his own lips the plump, soft looking lips of his mate.

A screech, cutting through the silence, had Alec jumping, his eyes darting from Magnus’ lips to scan the otherwise silent mountains that surrounded them. His heart rate started to settle when he realised it was just an owl, feeling Magnus’ rapidly beating heart, through his back, do the same.

Magnus, realising what he had been about to do, cleared his throat. He gave Alec’s hands, wrapped around his stomach, a small squeeze before removing them and climbing to his feet. He turned to look down at Alec, hating the hurt, confused look on his Alpha’s face.

“Come, fly with me?” Magnus asked, holding his hand out for Alec, hoping that he wouldn’t take it, praying that he would. The way they had flown together the week before had been playing on a loop in his head all week, the memory working to sustain him and leave him wanting more the entire time.

Alec reached up, letting Magnus pull him to his feet. He shuffled on the spot, his fingers fluttering nervously when Magnus let go of his hand, unsure of what to do with his hands. He wanted to reach out and pull Magnus close again but he knew that he couldn’t.

Magnus watched Alec’s every move, sighing when Alec turned with a frustrated sigh of his own and went for the edge of the outcropping. His eyes slid from the pure white feathers of Alec’s wings, where they joined his body, to the impossibly bright silver tips before darting down to check out Alec’s ass.

_ Round, firm looking, biteable in that tight black leather.  _ A small chuckle escaped Magnus before he clawed it back, his breath catching when Alec fell forward over the edge of the cliff, the beautiful white wings spreading out either side of him. He darted to the edge and looked over, seeing Alec’s wings catch him.

Magnus smiled at the sight of Alec rising before he bent his knees and launched himself out over the edge. He kept his wings tucked inside his body, laughing at the somersaulting of his stomach as he plummeted headfirst towards the ground before unfurling them at the last minute.

Alec darted after Magnus, his arms outstretched as he watched his mate fall. His heart stopped beating, somewhere back up on the cliff where he had left it when he saw Magnus’ freefall again. He pulled up just in time when Magnus’ wings shot out.

“Please stop doing that!” Alec almost yelled, wrapping his arms around his stomach as the sick feeling he felt there rolled through him.

“Sorry,” Magnus called out, not sorry in the slightest, it was fun. He felt awful when he saw the worried look on Alec’s face, realising that he maybe should have thought the manoeuvre through before acting. “Alexander, I have been flying for centuries, I know how to do it,” he said when Alec drew close.

“I know, its just… I panicked,” Alec said, hovering as close to Magnus as his wings would allow. He rolled onto his back to look up at his mate when Magnus flew over him, smiling a tight smile when Magnus was barely a few inches away.

“It is fun, you should try it. You get this… free, weightless feeling throughout your entire body. Gravity punches you in the gut and steals the air from your lungs and its… phenomenal!” Magnus said, grinning at Alec when a smile played over the edge of his Alpha’s lips. “Watch,” he said before taking off.

Alec watched Magnus go, his mate rolling and flipping through the air. He had never seen anything more exhilarating and terrifying and beautiful in his life. Magnus looked truly free, flying this way and that, as though he didn’t have a care in the world. He took off with one thought.  _ I want that! _

Magnus stopped his aerial display to watch Alec, seeing his mate soar through the air. His jaw went slack, his mouth flopping open when Alec’s wings drew close to his body, his mate spiralling down through the air in a whirl of white and silver that was breathtaking.

If Magnus didn’t know any better, he would swear Alec was flying a mating dance. The way his Alpha spread his wings at the last minute, rising up on a thermal to soar beneath him was something else. He hovered in mid-air, turning on the spot to watch Alec fly in ever-widening circles around him as he rose.

Alec laughed, great peals of laughter bursting from him at the freedom he felt as he circled Magnus, occasionally somersaulting or twirling through the air. He wasn’t an angel, a warrior, a brother or a member of The Host. He was just a man, dancing around his mate. Maybe he was showing off a little for Magnus.  _ Who wouldn’t? _

Magnus decided if Alec could display his most impressive moves then he could too. He beat his wings, rocketing after Alec, a grin spreading over his face when Alec glanced over his shoulder, stopping in mid-air. He flew circles around Alec, laughing when his Alpha spun to keep him in sight.

Not one to be outdone, Alec copied Magnus’ movements, flying closer to his Omega by the second as they circled one another. He reached out, taking Magnus in his arms when Magnus was an arm's length away from him.

“Your skills are impressive,” Magnus murmured breathlessly as his hands came to rest on Alec’s shoulders, grinning when Alec’s hands found his waist. They continued to twirl in the air, their wings working in tandem to keep them afloat.

“So are yours, you look so happy, so beautiful when you fly,” Alec said, seeing the utter joy as he stared into Magnus’ eyes, watching the way they sparkled in the moonlight, fluctuating from the deepest amber to the brightest gold. His breathing hitched in his chest, unable to pull his eyes away from them.

“These are beautiful,” Alec said, raising his hand to trace the edge of Magnus’ cheekbone. The small bursts of air against his wrist, blowing from Magnus’ mouth had his hand dropping, brushing his thumb over Magnus’ lower lip, his eyes darting to the soft lips beneath the pad of his thumb.

“These are the eyes of a demon,” Magnus said, his self-depreciation clear in his tone. He winced, mentally kicking himself when Alec’s hand left his face, both of them had forgotten themselves in the moment. They were both clearly remembering now.

“They are still beautiful,” Alec said before pulling back slightly.  _ No point in hiding from the truth.  _ He smiled a tight smile when Magnus stared at him before looking away.

“We can’t do this again,” Magnus said, staring over Alec’s left shoulder. He realised it was the wrong move when he stared right at Alec’s wing, wanting to reach out and touch it.  _ Maybe it's the right move. He is an angel and I am a demon. He is not meant for me. _

Alec saw the moment it once again dawned on Magnus that they couldn’t be together. He let out a frustrated sigh, hating the situation but wanting to make it easier on Magnus.

“I know. We have to stay away from one another,” Alec said. He gave in for one moment, pulling Magnus into a hug and pressing his lips to Magnus’ cheek before pulling back. “We can resist each other,” he said, even as his lips tingled.

“Goodbye, Alexander,” Magnus said, refusing to look into Alec’s eyes as he turned away. He broke from Alec’s hold and flipped in mid-air, heading for the ground head first, unable to stop his hand from pressing against his tingling cheek. He envisioned a pentagram to take himself back to his own realm.

“Goodbye, Magnus,” Alec whispered, watching his mate fall through a fiery portal with a lurch of his gut. The empty feeling returned as he pulled his eyes away from the charred remains of the portal when it closed, and set his sights on the heavens, flying a little slower than he normally would.

_ I can resist him.  _ Floated through his mind as he flew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do we think Magnus' title and his job would be if he was an angel?


	4. The Lies We Tell Ourselves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three Bamf siblings <3

“Did he say what this was about?” Alec asked his sister as he pulled his sleeveless tunic on with shaking hands, fear snaking through his veins from the summons he had received. He looked over his shoulder to see the perplexed expression on her face.

“No, he just summoned us, all three of us,” Izzy said, stepping back from her brother when his wings unfurled. She rolled her eyes when she heard Jace call out to them impatiently, sharing a look with her brother. Well, she shared a look with him.  _ What is wrong with him? _

Alec followed Izzy from his house with a churning stomach.  _ What does he want? Has he found out? What if he knows?  _ The lack of information that Izzy had bought with her had his thoughts running amok as fear washed through him again and again.

“Come on! He’s waiting,” Jace called out, taking off the minute Alec and Izzy emerged from Alec’s house. He looked over his shoulder when he felt Izzy’s presence at his left flank but missed Alec on his right, to see Alec lagging behind.

_ It doesn’t matter. I won't be seeing him again. Last night was the last time. We will both be safe, nobody will find out because there’s nothing to know. We can’t be punished for something we won't allow to happen. But what if he does know? What if he finds Magnus? What if he tells Magnus’ father? _

That thought scared Alec more than anything. He could handle anything that was thrown at him but the uncertainty of what would happen to Magnus was like a blade to his gut. Just the thought of anything happening to his mate had his stomach churning, sick with worry. No matter how much he tried to tell himself he hadn’t already become attached.

The fountains of life, passing beneath Alec as he flew caught his attention. He sped up, catching up to Jace and Izzy and ignored their questioning looks to descend. He landed in front of the fountains and the impatient looking angel waiting for them, the pure white wings of the Archangel blazing with a golden glow.

“Raziel, you wanted to see us?” Alec asked, a spark of relief washing through him when he managed to get the words out without stuttering. He looked up at the other angel, trying to decipher the expression on the face of his leader, to gauge whether the commander of The Heavenly Fire, the armies of The Host, knew about him and Magnus. He couldn’t tell.

“Alexander, Jonathan-Christopher, Isabelle, I have a mission for the three of you. You will travel to the mortal realm to deal with an invasion of The Horde,” Raziel said, watching as the three of them exchanged surprised looks. He stepped forward to touch each of them on the forehead, showing them the location.

“You want us to enter the mortal realm?” Izzy asked before Raziel touched her forehead, showing her the location. “It is neutral ground, we don’t go there,” she said, staring up at her commander.

“The demons attacked first. We are perfectly within our rights to intervene,” Raziel said as he showed Jace the location. “The mortals are defenceless. It is your duty to protect them, Isabelle. This is what you were created for,” he said.

The relief that flooded through Alec when Raziel didn’t mention Magnus was palpable. For three seconds. Until the words “The Horde” registered in his mind. His thoughts automatically snapped to his mate before an image of a small village flooded his mind.

_ What if Magnus is there? Granted, my knowledge of him is limited but surely Magnus wouldn’t be there, would he? _

“You will travel to this Hamlet. You will dispatch the demons and then you will return to report to me. You will not deviate from your mission. You are not permitted to engage with the mortals and you are not permitted to venture beyond this location, is that understood?” Raziel asked, looking each of them in the eye as he stepped back.

“Yes, Raziel, we will not deviate from our mission,” Jace said when Alec just nodded, a faraway expression on his face. If he didn’t know any better, he would swear that was fear he saw in his brother’s eyes. He turned from Alec to salute his commander before bending a knee.

Izzy nudged Alec before taking off after Jace. The swirling mess, thundering through Alec, had an ache forming in the pit of her stomach. Whatever was going on with her brother, she was determined to get to the bottom of it, unable to bear the turmoil that had taken root in him over the last week. He was a lost soul if ever she had encountered one.

Alec followed his brother and sister, possible scenarios of what they would find when they got there running through his mind. He couldn’t picture Magnus preying in the mortals, not from what he had learned of his mate so far.  _ But what if he is there? What if he had no choice? If he was sent there by his father… _

Alec banished the thoughts, his mate would not do that. He followed when Jace and Izzy reached the edges of the heavens and began the descent, picking up speed until he was nought but a silver blur, dropping as fast as the golden blur and the rose gold coloured blur beneath him.

Jace ran over different scenarios in his head as he flew, wondering what kind of demons they would face, how many of them there they would face, why the demons were there in the first place, and if any of the mortals were hurt.

Excitement bubbled through Izzy as the mortal realm came into view after what felt like an age, it had been aeons since they had had a mission to this realm. She ran over what weapons would be best, already adjusting the whips that were curled around her arms. She rolled her eyes when Jace slammed down into the earth below her, creating a massive crater as he landed on bended knee.  _ Show off! _

Jace grinned when he stood, watching the dainty way Izzy tilted her wings last minute and landed lightly on her feet. He turned when Izzy did to see Alec land a few feet away, just as softly as Izzy had.

“When was the last time we were in the mortal realm?” Jace asked, looking around at the forest on either side of the dirt road before his eyes swept over a tall stone wall, a little further up the road.

“Centuries,” Alec murmured, refusing to meet his sibling's gazes as he toed the deep ruts of cart tracks in the dirt. He followed Jace’s gaze to see what looked like a walled settlement in the distance, his heart lurching when a scream rang through the air. It looked to be mid-afternoon, judging from the position of the sun.

“What are demons doing attacking in broad daylight?” Jace asked as he retracted his wings and ran for the tall gate he could see in the wall.  _ As if a gate would keep them out.  _ He picked up speed when Izzy and Alec flanked him, the three of them moving faster than a mortals eye would be able to track.

Alec willed his bow into existence when Jace’s Adamas blades and Izzy’s whips appeared in their hands. He bent a knee and jumped over the twenty-foot wall when it was clear the gate was barred from the inside, his stomach dropping when he landed softly inside the settlement.

“What have they done?” Izzy asked, tears forming at the corners of her eyes when she saw the destruction before her. Her gut lurched, aching for the souls that had been slaughtered as her eyes swept over the wreckage of the village.

“They have gone too far,” Jace snarled, fighting his own tears back when he saw piles of bodies amidst the debris of demolished wooden houses. Young, old, men, women, the demon’s hadn’t distinguished between them, killing indiscriminately. He felt sick just at the sight of it, too many innocents to count lying before them.

“Check the houses that are still standing, see if there are any survivors,” Alec growled, taking charge of the situation as usual. He had to fight the sick feeling in his stomach as anger coursed through him, the look on his face promising divine retribution to the ones that had wreaked havoc on the small village and the obviously defenceless people who had resided there.

Alec kept his bow raised, an arrow nocked and ready as they made their way up the single dirt road that the village seemed to be centred around. What looked to be fifty ramshackle wooden houses if that, half of them demolished, and a tavern. It wasn’t much but most of it was destroyed.

“Ravener demons,” Izzy shouted when one crawled from the nearest doorway. She flicked both wrists, the ends of her whips wrapping around the demon’s neck, and yanked hard, separating the snarling demon’s head from its body before it could get closer than ten feet.

Jace watched Izzy from his peripheral, creeping closer to the next house when she dispatched the demon. He looked into the one-roomed shack to find it empty of anything living, just more bodies on the ground. His heart ached when he saw a small cloth doll lying in the doorway before he turned away.

Alec searched house after house, seeing the same thing in each one. He backed away, drawing the demon out when he reached the last house on his side of the road.  _ Just let loose, release the arrow.  _ His brain screamed when it came out after him. He froze, unable to do it when an image of Magnus flashed behind his eyes.

_ They are completely different species, this one is a mindless, slavering beast, incapable of thought or actions of its own, save the need to destroy. It is nothing like Magnus. _

Alec’s indecision almost cost him his life, it probably would have if Izzy’s sizzling electrum whip hadn’t wrapped around the demon’s neck and Jace’s blade hadn’t sliced its head off.

“What are you doing? Why did you hesitate?” Jace asked, his heart pounding when he turned to stare at his brother. “It almost killed you!” he almost shouted from the panic that wouldn’t abate.

“I don’t know what happened,” Alec gasped out, staring at the demon’s burning remains. He had never once, in all of the centuries he had been alive, hesitated when faced with an enemy and yet, he hadn’t been able to release the arrow nocked in his bow. All he could do was stare at its remains.

“Its okay, you’re just in shock,” Izzy said, her soothing tone belying the fear that curled through her stomach at the panicked look on Alec’s face. She stepped forward, placing herself between her brother and the charred ground the demon had disappeared from and took Alec’s face in her hands.

“Look at me, Alec,” Izzy whispered, tugging her brother’s head down and pressing her lips to his cheek when his eyes closed.

Alec shuddered when Izzy’s calming presence flooded him, his blank brain kickstarting once more, already chastising himself for his hesitation. He opened his eyes, breathing hard, just in time to spin Izzy behind his back. He didn’t hesitate this time when he dropped his bow and willed his Adamas blades into his hands, the demon that ran at them was too close for his bow.

Alec crossed his blades across his chest and fell to one knee just as the demon jumped. He opened his arms wide and sliced the demon’s head clean off with the speed and strength that had been bestowed upon him at his creation, with a scissoring manoeuvre that the demon had no chance of escaping. 

Izzy didn’t have time to thank Alec or to check that he was okay when she heard a snarl behind her, turning to see three more of them emerge from the doorway of the small tavern.

“Ravener demons are trackers, what do you think they are here for?” Izzy asked when her brothers turned on the spot. She felt them both at her back, chancing a glimpse over her shoulder to see them standing back to back with her, preoccupied with their own demons.

“I don’t know, there must be something here that someone wants, badly,” Jace said, lunging at the two demon’s that came for him. He sunk his left blade straight into the neck of the first demon and sliced the head from the second one with his right blade before turning to take on the second one that came for Alec.

Alec turned and took two of Izzy’s demon’s out in quick succession, leaving her to deal with the third. He looked around when she dispatched the final one with a dagger to the forehead, still shaken from his earlier episode.

“How many houses are left to search?” Alec asked, turning to Izzy and Jace, nodding when Jace said “three”. He retrieved his bow and followed them when they turned for the last houses, leaving the tavern for last. “Have either of you found any survivors?” he asked, not wanting to know the answer.

“None,” Izzy said quietly, seeing Jace shake his head. It was one of the worst Massacres she had ever borne witness to, wholesale slaughter without quarter or reason. She clutched the handles of her whips tighter when she took the middle house, Alec taking the first and Jace taking the last house on the row.

Izzy toed the door open, ready for anything that came for her, to find the room empty of anything living. She would have sighed with relief had it not been for the sad trio in the corner, a mother obviously having given her life for the children she had been unable to protect.

Izzy didn’t try to hold back the tears that fell this time, backing out of the house to see similar expressions on her brother’s faces and the sad shakes of their heads. Anger and despair washed through her in equal measures at the devastation they had found.  _ Why? They were unable to defend themselves. _

“It looks like there’s only one place left to search,” Jace said, turning for the tavern when Alec and Izzy nodded their agreement. He stalked forward as righteous anger burned through him, his siblings flanking him.

Alec raised his bow when Jace kicked the door to the tavern open, kicking the wooden door straight off its hinges. He took point, his eyes sweeping the room as he led the way. The dingy bar area of the tavern was devoid of life, forcing them to step over bodies as they crept deeper into the building.

Alec nodded to a doorway in the corner behind the bar, watching Izzy’s back as she walked through, following immediately on her heels. The doorway led to a kitchen which was empty, a large pot of stew bubbling away in a huge hearth, a stew that would never be eaten.

Izzy turned, shaking her head when there were no signs of any demons in the kitchen, just more bodies. She looked up at the ceiling, jerking her head in that direction when a loud thud caught their attention.

Jace was already heading for the remaining door when Alec and Izzy emerged from the doorway to the kitchen. He waited with thinly disguised impatience for them to catch up to him before starting up the rickety wooden stairway, cursing every loud creak beneath his feet.

Alec followed his brother, preparing himself when Jace reached the landing and disappeared through a door. He followed to find Jace dispatching a Ravener demon, his stomach rolling when he saw the half-eaten corpse of an old man.

“It’s bad enough that they have killed so many of the mortals, they have to feed on them too?” Alec asked quietly, seeing his own revulsion mirrored on Jace’s face. He could see Jace fighting his tears just as hard as he was.

“There are five more rooms,” Izzy said from the doorway, turning her gaze away from the grizzly sight her brothers had come across.

They checked the remainder of the rooms, realising the tavern must be a halfway house, to find them empty before making their way silently back through the tavern and out into the main thoroughfare.

“I don’t understand what they were here for, this wasn’t just a random attack. They had to be here for something,” Alec said, looking around the empty village. He unfurled his wings, seeing no point in keeping them hidden anymore, there was nobody left to look upon them.

“Look around again,” Alec said when Izzy and Jace copied him, unfurling their own wings. He bent a knee, pushing off from the ground, to soar over the small village, searching out every inch. He flew around the entire circumference of the stone wall that surrounded it before a movement behind one of the remaining houses caught his eye. 

Alec caught his brother and sister’s attention before descending, his bow raised once more as they came to land next to him. He jerked his head in the direction of a clump of bushes, keeping his bow trained on it as Izzy stepped forward.

Izzy almost made it to the bushes before a terrified sounding squeak had her backing away, looking to her brothers.  _ What in the name of The Host was that?  _ She saw their confusion, the match of her own, clear on their faces. The noise had sounded like a child.

“Whoever is in there, you can come out now,” Alec said as he stepped forward and pulled his sister behind him when he reached the bush.  _ It must be one of the mortals, a demon wouldn’t hide in the bushes. _

Alec lowered his weapon, gesturing for the other’s to do the same when a little girl parted the leaves and peered out at them before stumbling from the bushes, staring wide-eyed at them.

Alec stared down at the little girl, seeing the fear and awe, mixed with no small amount of terror and confusion blossom in her eyes. She couldn’t have been older than nine or ten years old, ebony-skinned with long ropes of black hair and as covered as them in what looked like ichor. He stepped back when the girl’s dark skin changed, turning a vivid blue.

“What is it?” Jace whispered, raising his sword in confusion when the little girl turned blue. “Is it a demon?” he asked his equally confused looking brother and sister.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s some kind of shapeshifting demon,” Alec suggested, watching the child for any signs that it might attack.

“She, not it,” Izzy said, rolling her eyes at her ridiculous brothers. “If she was a demon, wouldn’t she have…?” she cut off when a small pair of wings sprouted from the child’s back, a manoeuvre that wrenched a cry from the girl’s lips. The wings were beautiful, iridescent blue and green peacock feathers gleaming in the late afternoon sunlight, each of them no more than two foot across.

“What is your name child?” Alec asked, stepping forward when he saw the girl’s right wing was injured. He lowered his bow, to the consternation of his siblings, when he saw her take a step back. He raised an eyebrow at her until she opened her mouth to speak.

“Catarina… Cat,” she said, staring up at the impossibly tall angel staring back down at her, her eyes darting to the other two. They were all pretty but the weapons made her nervous, she knew that angels killed demons.

Cat looked around, hoping for somewhere to hide. Her wing hurt and she was tired and scared and wanted her mama. She shook as she realised there was no escape, she couldn’t even fly away, her aching wing wouldn’t support her.  _ They would probably catch me anyway. _

“What happened here, Cat?” Alec asked. He turned when he felt a hand on his shoulder, to see Jace and Izzy both staring at him. “What?” he asked them.

“What are you doing?” Jace asked.  _ He’s lost his damn mind! Why is he talking to her?  _  “She’s a demon!” he said when Alec raised an inquiring brow at him.

“And?” Alec asked, shifting uncomfortably under their gazes. “What’s she going to do, kill us? We need to know what happened and she’s the only one alive,” he said, ignoring the tightening of his chest from the way they were looking at him.

“She’s probably working with them,” Jace said, his eyes darting back to the girl who was watching them with fear in her eyes. The sight of it made him pause.

“Is she? Look within, Jace,” Alec said, looking back at the little girl. All he felt when he looked at her was a need to help her, every ounce of his power telling him she was a victim. “Use the power you were given and tell me she’s not an innocent,” he said.

“Alec is… right, she’s… she’s lost,” Izzy said, her own power waring with her senses.  _ She is a demon but she is also an innocent.  _ To say she was confused would be an understatement.

Jace didn't know what to do, he had never been so conflicted in his existence. Centuries of battling demons belied what he knew to be right. He could feel the truth of it in his entire being, had known the second his eyes landed on the child, she was an innocent.  _ But she is also a demon. _

“What happened here?” Alec asked again when he turned back to the child. He knelt down, putting himself on her level when her eyes darted around. “We aren’t here to hurt you, please just tell us what happened. Why did the Ravener demons attack this place?” he asked.

“My mama said they were here for me. This is my fault,” Cat said, fighting back her tears as she stared into the wide hazel eyes watching her every movement.

“She told me to hide when they attacked. She... said they would take me away if I didn’t... hide,” Cat whispered, desperately wanting to be a big girl and not cry in front of them. “One of them came into the house and... we killed it but there were more, there were lots more and they… killed my mama,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

“Is that how you got hurt?” Izzy asked, stepping forward and kneeling next to Alec. She felt awful when she saw the girl scrubbing her tears away, her little body shaking with what she suspected was fright, mixed with the horror of losing a parent before her eyes.

“It tried to get me when I tried to fly away,” Cat said, wiping her arm across her face when more tears fell. “My mama jumped on it and… and… we killed it. It tried to pull my wing off and then more of… them came and… there were t-too many,” she choked out, watching it happen again and again.

Alec couldn’t help himself. He reached out and pulled Cat to him on the pretence of inspecting her wing, ignoring the sharp intake of breath behind him. He held Cat’s trembling body close, offering her comfort as he inspected her wing.

Cat winced, fighting back a sob when the angel took her wing in his hand. Against her better judgement, her arms came up to wrap around his neck as pain ricocheted across her wing and down her spine.

“You’re missing a few feathers but this will heal on its own with a little time,” Alec said, probing the torn wing where it joined the girl’s back, the blood already congealing, under the sack of material she called a dress. Thankfully, the wing wasn’t broken. He patted her awkwardly on the shoulder when she let go of his neck.

“Alec, can we have a word?” Izzy asked when her brother straightened up. She took her brother’s arm and pulled him away from the girl to glare up at him.

“What are you doing?” Izzy asked, searching Alec’s eyes, trying to decipher the look there. It looked like guilt. She turned to Jace, raising an eyebrow when Alec didn’t answer her straight away.

“What are we going to do with her?” Jace asked when Alec refused to answer Izzy.

“What do you mean, “do with her”?” Alec asked, his eyes darting over his shoulder to see Cat watching them, looking for all the world like a caged animal. He turned back to see Izzy and Jace sharing a look. “Can either of you kill her? Look at her, she’s just a child,” he said.

“Of course not, it is not our way to harm an innocent, even if she is a demon,” Izzy said, feeling a little guilty for talking about the girl as if she wasn’t there which only had her confusion deepening. None of them had ever been faced with a demon child before.

“We will have to take her to Raziel,” Jace said solemnly. He didn’t relish the thought of taking a demon to the heavens but his conscience wouldn’t allow him to leave an innocent child to fend for herself, no matter what she was. And they couldn’t exactly leave her to wander the mortal realm.

“What do you think will happen to her if we show up with a demon?” Alec muttered, staring at his siblings when Izzy nodded her agreement.  _ It won’t matter how old she is.  _ “We can’t take her up there, she won’t last five minutes,” he said.

“Then what are we supposed to do with her, we can’t leave a demon loose in the mortal realm,” Jace hissed, his eyes darting over Alec’s shoulder to look at the girl again. She looked harmless enough now but once she was grown…

“We can’t take her with us and we can't tell Raziel about her. We have already failed our mission, we weren’t supposed to reveal ourselves and the mortals are all dead,” Alec said.

“What are we supposed to do, lie to him?” Jace asked, his eyes widening when Alec nodded. He turned to Izzy, seeing that she was also uncomfortable with the thought of lying to their commander but looking like she was going to side with Alec.

“Do you trust me?” Alec asked as Magnus’ face swam before his eyes once more. His heart dropped when he saw the look of hurt on Izzy’s face.

“Of course we trust you, why are you asking us that?” Izzy asked, looking into Alec’s eyes. He had never had to ask that before.

“I can take her somewhere where she will be safe. I know someone that can look after her where she won’t be loose to cause trouble, but we can’t tell Raziel, we can’t tell anyone,” Alec said after taking a deep breath, waiting for his sister to start. It didn’t take long.

“Who? Where could you possibly take her where she can’t be loose to cause trouble?” Izzy asked, staring at Alec before her eyes darted to Jace, who looked just as mystified.

“I can’t tell you,” Alec said miserably, wishing he could. He looked beseechingly at her when her face dropped, hurt stamped all over it. “I’m sorry Iz. Please just trust me?” he asked. He hated keeping things from them but Magnus’ safety stopped him from blurting it out.

“I don’t like it but I do trust you,” Jace said, taking Izzy’s arm when she opened her mouth to protest, knowing that she wanted answers.  _ I want answers too but I know him, if Alec is keeping something from us, it is for a good reason. _

“You can tell us when you’re ready,” Jace reassured Alec, cutting Izzy off with a look when her head snapped around. “Leave it alone, Iz,” he said, shaking his head at her.

“What do you need us to do?” Izzy asked, against her better judgement. Her chest constricted when Alec let out a relieved sigh. She wished he would talk to them. She knew he was hiding something and she didn’t like that he was keeping it to himself but she also knew her brother.

“Just wait for me in my house until I get back. I’ll report to Raziel,” Alec said, shaking his head at Izzy when she opened her mouth. “I have to go alone, Iz. I will tell Raziel that all of the mortals were dead when we got here and that we dispatched the demons. It won’t even be a lie,” he said. Cat wasn’t mortal so technically, they would be telling the truth.  _ Or part of it at least. _

“I don’t like it, I have never lied before,” Izzy said, staring at her brother.  _ Angel’s don’t lie, especially not to their commander. _

“I know, but he can’t know and the only alternative is to hand her over,” Alec said, looking over his shoulder at the child once more. “Look at her, she is an innocent, she didn’t ask for any of this,” he said when he turned back to Jace and Izzy.

“Stay safe, don’t take any unnecessary risks. Come back to us in one piece, do you hear me?” Jace asked, staring his brother down until Alec nodded. He pulled Alec and Izzy into a hug before letting Alec go and tugging Izzy away.

Alec watched his brother and sister each bend a knee with one last look at him before they both shot up into the air. He turned to Cat when they both became blurs, moving too fast to make them out as they rose.

“Are they bringing more angels to kill me?” Cat asked when the tall angel turned to her, unable to keep the fear from her voice as she took a step back.

“No, they are returning to our realm. I’m going to take you to see a very special friend of mine who will look after you, okay?” Alec asked, sinking to one knee in front of the girl.

“Why can’t I stay here? This is my home,” Cat said, uncaring of the defiance in her tone as she started to pace.

“There is nobody left to look after you, Cat,” Alec said gently, his stomach clenching when her head snapped around to look at him before she continued to pace.

“I’m a big girl, I can look after myself,” Cat said, wrapping her arms around her body to try and stop it from hurting.

“Of course you are. But if more demons come, what will you do then?” Alec asked, not unkindly. He had to admire the girl's conviction and spirit but there was no way he would let a child try and survive on their own, demon or not. And he couldn’t just leave her to roam the mortal realm.

“Is your friend an angel too?” Cat asked, stopping in her tracks.  _ Maybe I can run fast enough to get away.  _ She knew it was a silly thought but her eyes still darted around.

“No, Catarina. He is a demon, like you,” Alec said, a small smile ghosting his lips when she stopped looking for an escape route to gape at him. “Come, it is a long way,” he said, standing up and stepping forward.

“I can’t fly,” Cat said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder at her sore wing.  _ Did he really say he was friends with a demon? _

“Its okay, I’ll carry you. My name is Alec, by the way,” Alec said, realising he was asking the girl to trust him and she didn’t even know his name. “Will you come with me?” he asked, holding his hand out Cat.

Cat stared at the angel's massive hand before looking around. “What about my mama?” Cat asked, fresh tears falling at the thought of leaving her mother in the wreckage of their house. She stared up at him when he chewed his lip before he looked at her house and sighed.

“Wait here,” Alec said before starting for the house, feeling bad for the girl. He walked into the house finding Cat's mother straight away in the destroyed, one-roomed shack, his heart aching when he saw the mangled body of a woman that looked just like Cat, buried in the broken furniture.  _ Cat must have watched it happen. _

With a deep sigh, he found a blanket in the wreckage and wrapped it around the woman's limp form, not wanting to subject Cat to the sight again, before carrying her outside and laying her on the ground.

Cat sat down with her mama, silent tears spilling over her cheeks as she watched Alec dig a big hole with his sword.

It took him a while with his limited options but Alec finally jumped out of the hole when it was deep enough and collected the woman's body, gently lowering her into the grave that he had dug. It wasn't much but at least the girl could say goodbye.

“I may not be able to deliver the justice you deserve but I promise your daughter will be safe,” Alec whispered before jumping back out of the hole. He didn’t know if he could truly keep that promise but he made it anyway.

“Goodbye, mama,” Cat whispered when Alec started to push the dirt on her mother's body, fighting her tears as she watched. She let loose, unable to be brave as she cried for her mama and herself, hoping the angel’s friend was nice.

Alec scooped Cat up when he heard the terrified, pain filled sobs, his heart aching for her. To lose so much at such a young age was too unfair. He held her tightly when her wings retracted, stroking his hand through the long ropes of her black hair when she cried harder at what must have been a painful manoeuvre before he bent his knees.

“Hold on tight, Cat. We have a long way to go,” Alec said as he shot up into the air and beat his wings, flying as fast as he could. He held her tightly when she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as he turned to a silver blur.

Alec had no idea how to reach his mate, all he could do was hope that Magnus had broken his promise to stay away as he headed for the mountain where they had met, knowing he was doing the same thing himself.  _ But this will definitely be the last time. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that happened. I said Cat would be in this, I didn't say how old she would be though. I'm a bit of an arsehole but there is a method to my madness.


	5. The Promises We Make

 

It wasn't until Magnus had already been pacing the edge of the cliff for an hour that he realised it was already a foregone conclusion that he would be there. Despite what he had promised himself, he had been unable to stay away. 

“What am I doing? Why am I torturing myself?” He asked himself to break the silence, not even a nocturnal bird doing the job for him.

He thought about his day, another day hiding from Simon and Clary and also from himself and his desires.

_ No, not desire, need. I need to have this emptiness gone. I need my mate. Funny how I've never needed one before and now that I have one, all of a sudden, he's all I can think about. _

The thought had him pacing faster, the need to walk and pace and do something! Anything to try and take his mind off the fact that he was there, alone, driving his steps.

_ Alone. Like we promised. _

He knew he shouldn't be there, that Alec wasn't coming but it still hurt. It still made him ache to realise that this was his existence now. An eternity alone. An eternity to wallow in self-pity and thoughts of what he could have had.

_ It wouldn't even be that bad if I didn't know Alexander is out there, if I didn’t know that he is suffering the same as I am. Both of us get to spend our eternities alone, knowing that the ridiculous fluke of our circumstances is all that keeps us apart. _

_ I Should just leave. I'm only torturing myself by staying. Just spread my wings and fly home. _

It was what he should do, the problem was, he didn't want to. Even though he knew, deep down, that he should be leaving, he still took a seat in the edge of the outcropping. He looked out over the vista, once again lit by the moonlight.

He couldn’t stop his mind turning to the future they could have had. A future where they got to know one another, where they got to have what other people had. The thought of the family and happiness that he was now forced to go without moved him past self-pity.

_ Why should others get that and not me? Why do others get to have their happy ending and not Alexander and I? _

That was what made it worse, the fact that Alec had to miss out too. He had no doubt that his mate deserved to be happy. Alec’s brother and sister wouldn’t fixate on trying to find Alec a mate if he didn’t deserve to be happy.

_ Alec is The Avenging Angel. He seeks justice for those that cannot seek it for themselves. Of course, he deserves to be happy and cherished and loved, just like everyone else. _

A flapping sound had him looking up, almost cringing at the hope that bloomed in his chest. It seemed the hope was about to be rewarded when he caught a flash of silver as the moonlight reflected off of a large pair of wings.

He couldn’t have stopped the grin from spreading across his face and the happy, fluttering feeling in his stomach if he tried. He stood up, watching Alec fly closer. The happy, giddy feeling that had risen up in him turned to confusion when Alec landed.

“Alexander… what…?” Magnus asked when he saw his mate clutching a child to his chest, both of them covered in demon blood. The girl’s legs were wrapped around Alec’s waist and her arms wrapped around his neck, her face buried in his shoulder.

Magnus’ heart constricted at the sight of his mate holding a child for a moment, the question dying on his lips when Alec raised a finger to his own lips.

Magnus stepped forward, noting the tired look on Alec’s face, to look at the little girl he was holding. The question was clear on his face when he looked up from the blue-skinned little girl, sleeping in Alec’s tight embrace.

“She’s freezing,” Alec whispered, not wanting Cat to wake up, she had only been asleep for an hour after crying herself out almost the entire journey across the planet. He smiled gratefully at his mate when Magnus waved a hand and cleaned the ichor off of them before handing him a blanket.

Alec wrapped Cat up in the blanket and lay her down, as gently as he could on the soft feather mattress Magnus produced with another wave of his hand before straightening up and taking Magnus’ hand. He sighed with relief when his mate’s hand was encased in his own as Magnus interlocked their fingers.

Magnus followed when Alec pulled him away from the sleeping girl, looking over his shoulder to see her wrap herself up tighter and snuggle down into the mattress in her sleep.

“Alexander, what’s going on?” Magnus asked quietly when they were out of the girl’s earshot. He took a seat next Alec against another sheer rock face that led up to the plateau of their mountain.

Alec retracted his wings and sank gratefully to the ground, his eyes searching Cat out again before turning to Magnus. He explained what had happened, starting with the summons and ending with the five hour, non-stop flight he had just taken across the planet as Magnus listened in silence. He sagged with relief when Magnus agreed to take her without question.

“Of course I will take her, I know what it’s like to lose everything in an instant. So she has no one?” Magnus asked, sadness welling up for the little girl and the all too familiar circumstances she had faced.

“No, I asked her during the flight if she had any family. All she had was her mother,” Alec said sadly, watching the girl turn over in her sleep, now facing them.

“And you said it was a pack of Ravener demons that attacked her people?” Magnus asked, nodding when Alec confirmed it. “That sounds familiar. That was how my father brought me back to Edom when I was a child. He sent Ravener demons to fetch me,” he said.

“The same thing happened to you?” Alec asked, his head snapping around to his mate, his eyes leaving Cat’s sleeping form to stare at Magnus. He quirked an eyebrow when Magnus let out a derisive chuckle.

“No, I didn’t have anyone who cared. My mother was already gone. I was living on the streets, forced to try and make it in the mortal realm on my own,” Magnus said, looking up from their joined hands when Alec pulled him closer. He couldn’t stop himself from snuggling into Alec’s side.

“What happened?” Alec asked, wrapping his arm around Magnus’ shoulder when he saw the faraway look in his Omega’s eyes, memories obviously taking over him.

“I was only six at the time, I grew up fast! I was hiding in a dark alleyway near the market, waiting for one of the street vendors to look away so I could steal something to eat. I was focussed so hard on the man that I didn’t hear them coming up behind me. Nobody even looked around when I screamed,” Magnus said, grimacing as he remembered being grabbed.

“I had my magic but I froze, too terrified to try and use it to defend myself. I couldn’t even unfurl my wings. They brought me back to Edom where I met a man. He told me he was my father and that demons weren’t meant to live in the mortal realm. I didn’t even know I was a demon, I didn’t know what I was. All I knew was that this man had the same eyes as me and this was my life now,” Magnus shrugged.

“It must have been terrifying,” Alec said, trying not to imagine a tiny version of Magnus being grabbed and hauled away screaming, and failing miserably. The image in his head had him drawing Magnus in tighter.

“It was but it happened so long ago that I barely even think about it anymore,” Magnus said truthfully, it had happened centuries ago. He looked at the sleeping form of Cat, watching her wriggle under her blanket.

“She is going to be so lost, so scared,” Magnus whispered as old memories flooded back, making him visibly wince as he remembered his first terrifying weeks in his father’s home, remembering how long it had taken him to get used to seeing demons of every shape and size come and go.

“Magnus, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to open up old wounds. I just couldn’t think of what else to do with her, where to take her,” Alec said, looking into Magnus’ eyes when Magnus looked up at him, a tight smile ghosting his lips.

“Don’t apologise, Alexander. If it wasn’t for you and your siblings, she would have been left to fend for herself or left to some fate where she was dragged off to one of the realms. I know what that’s like. To have that happen when she just lost her mother… it would have been awful,” Magnus said.

“Is that any different to what I did? I still took her away from everything she has ever known,” Alec asked. His eyes met Magnus’ again when a hand came to rest on his cheek. He leaned into his mate’s touch, inhaling his Omega’s scent as he gripped Magnus’ hand to his face.

“You gave her a chance to say goodbye to her mother. Believe me, that will mean more to her than you could possibly know. When my mother killed herself, the man who owned the hovell we were living in had her body collected and thrown out like she was one big inconvenience, unworthy of even a burial,” Magnus said with a shudder, anger pulsing through him for the way she had been treated.

“And then he did the same with me. He tossed me out like I was nothing, just a street rat in his way. I’m lucky he didn’t try to sell me. Trust me, what you did makes a difference!” Magnus said, patting Alec's cheek when he growled and his runes glowed brighter.

“Who knows, maybe her demon parent would have treated her well and looked after her. I highly doubt it. It doesn’t bode well for what her future would have been like if they didn’t even bother to go looking for her themselves,” Magnus said, a touch of the anger he felt colouring his tone.

“Did he mistreat you?” Alec snarled, fury coursing through him at Magnus’ words. He tried to reign it in when Cat shuffled in her sleep at his outburst. He pulled Magnus onto his lap, burying his face in Magnus’ neck to calm himself with his mate’s soothing scent.

“No, he never hurt me. But I wasn’t shown the love and care a child needs. I’m not entirely sure Asmodeus even knows how to show love or affection,” Magnus sighed, his fingers finding the ends of his Alpha’s hair as his arms wrapped around Alec’s neck, watching Alec’s glowing runes dim slightly when he calmed.

“I think he sees me as a political advantage more than anything else, something to secure his hold on his realm and others. It probably would have been the same with Catarina. Whoever her parent is, they probably wanted her for some advantage she could provide them, rather than actually wanting their child,” Magnus said.

“That is awful. She is just a child. You were just a child,” Alec mumbled into Magnus’ neck. He tried to imagine treating his own child so callously and failed. He had never thought of having children before, it hadn’t really crossed his mind except for a vague impression of the future but he knew he could never do that.

“I could never do that if we were lucky enough to be able to mate and have a child,” Alec said without thinking, too busy imagining what a child of theirs would look like.  _ It would look beautiful if it looked anything like Magnus. _

“Me either,” Magnus whispered, an ache taking hold of his stomach as he imagined what a real, loving family would be like. A family to call his own. Simon and Clary were like family to him but it wasn’t the same. It would never be enough when he was faced with the image of Alec, holding a tiny child in his arms, flying through the air as the excited child laughed.

Alec brushed his hands up and down Magnus’ back, rubbing small circles to comfort him when he felt Magnus’ body shudder in his arms. He looked up to see a tear rolling down his mate’s cheek.

“It’s not fair,” Alec muttered as he reached up and wiped the tear away, seeing his own longing and misery reflected in Magnus’ eyes. Eyes that should be surrounded by laugh lines and a happy gleam, not tears.

Magnus eyes closed when Alec’s lips pressed to his cheek, his grip on Alec’s neck tightening a little. He let a sigh escape him when Alec did it again, knowing he should stop it. That he should climb from Alec’s lap and put some distance between them but having no power or will to do so.

Alec couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to. He ignored the protesting voice in his head when he curled his finger under Magnus’ chin, tugging his face down to look at him. He tilted his head back when Magnus looked him in the eye, his own eyes darting down to Magnus’ lips before finding his eyes again.

The permission, the longing Alec saw in Magnus’ eyes and the tighter grip Magnus had in his hair had him tilting his head the last inch, brushing his lips against Magnus’. A deep sigh escaped him when Magnus kissed him back, his eyes falling closed naturally as he gave in.

Magnus’ thumb brushed small circles in Alec’s hair when he met Alec’s lips, unwilling to hold back. He would deal with the consequences later. Right now, this was all he wanted. He met Alec’s tentative brush with a harder one of his own, revelling in the soft, plumpness of his mate’s lips. They were even better than he had imagined.

Magnus couldn’t care less about his hitching breath as he tilted his head, not at the sound of Alec’s heavier breathing.  _ Fuck! I’d wager that’s what he sounds like when he makes love _ . Just that thought alone had his entire body heating up, had him pressing closer to his Alpha.

Alec cupped Magnus’ cheek harder, his tongue flicking out when Magnus moved in his lap. His hand snaked around the back of Magnus’ neck, tilting his mate’s head further when Magnus opened up.

Alec would have grinned at the fierceness with which Magnus’ tongue met his own if he hadn’t been too busy kissing him back just as hard, fighting him for dominance.  _ I would fight this fight until my dying breath! _

It was a fight neither of them could win, Alec realised, not caring in the slightest as he shifted Magnus around in his lap, never breaking his hold on Magnus’ lips. He searched out every millimetre of Magnus’ mouth when Magnus straddled him, his hand gripping Magnus’ hips tightly.

Magnus didn’t think, all he could do was feel. Alec’s lips, trailing down his jaw had him tilting his head back, his eyelids fluttering with every soft kiss, every nip of Alec’s teeth against his skin. A small moan escaped as his breathing picked up when Alec sucked at the scent glands in his neck. It had his hips rocking slightly, an automatic response to the pleasure radiating from his neck.

A scraping sound, coming from behind his mate had Alec pulling back, his head darting up to look around as he stopped his wandering hands and pulled Magnus off his lap, trying to push him behind his body. He came to his senses when he remembered that Cat lay not twenty feet from them as she wriggled in her sleep.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not,” Alec said breathlessly through the pounding of his heart when he turned to Magnus to see a smirk on his face. “What?” he asked, a matching grin tugging the corners of his own mouth up.

“Did you just try to push me behind you?” Magnus asked, unable to help the small chuckle that burst from him when he saw a small blush form on Alec’s cheeks. “I can protect myself, but it was sweet. And hot,” he chuckled. His mate, acting the big bad Alpha, was doing things to him.

“Don’t laugh, it was an automatic response. What kind of Alpha would I be if I couldn't even protect my mate?” Alec asked, pulling Magnus closer when he carried on laughing. “So, it was hot huh?” He asked with a grin.

“Extremely,” Magnus said, grinning when he looked up at Alec and saw the smile on his face, it was too pretty not to. “And just so you know, I’m not sorry either. I probably will be later but right now? I just don’t give a fuck,” he shrugged.

“Ugh, why does there have to be a later?” Alec asked, pushing his face into Magnus’ neck once more. He smirked when Magnus shuddered, pouting his lips out to kiss Magnus’ neck.

Magnus sighed, a deep pleasure coursing through him when Alec’s breath tickled his neck. He tilted his head to the side, breathing hard when Alec continued to kiss his neck.

“Do you think we could just hide here forever?” Magnus asked to distract himself from Alec’s kisses. He could push Alec away but he didn’t want to, the soft lips on his collarbone felt too nice.

“I wish! Izzy would find us though. There’s no way she would let me just sneak off and hide,” Alec said, rolling his eyes at the thought of his sister's reaction if he told her he was running away to the mortal realm, with a demon no less.

“I wish I could meet her, I think if we weren’t two completely different species, we could get along. She sounds nice,” Magnus said when he heard the clear love Alec felt for her in his tone. Anyone his mate felt that much love for had to be amazing, as far as he was concerned.

“So do I, she wouldn’t understand though, neither she or Jace would. The worst thing is, she would love you. She’s always harping on about me finding a mate, to settle down and make her an auntie,” Alec said.  _ Her eternal struggle to see me “happy”. _

“She would probably gush over your clothes, she thinks protective gear is there to make her look good. She would treat you like me and Jace and probably always take your side against me,” Alec said, picking at the gold studs on the edge of Magnus’ pewter coloured leather top.

“Sounds like my kind of girl,” Magnus laughed, trying to imagine what she looked like. “What about Jace, would we get on?” he asked.

“Probably, he’s quite protective over Izzy and me, we all are of each other. As long as we make each other happy though, that’s all he would care about, aside from the obvious,” Alec said. “What about Clary and Simon? Do you think I would get on with them?” he asked.

“Sure, you and Simon would get on like a Shax Demon on fire, if you don’t mind his excessive talking,” Magnus said, letting a small chuckle escape when Alec grimaced. “He talks a lot but he is probably one of the most loyal, kind and eternally optimistic people I know. He’s always willing to have my back in any given situation,” he said, smiling when Alec did.

“And Clary… she is hot-headed and likes to act first and think later. She tends to fly by the seat of her pants when it comes to doing pretty much anything but she will go to any lengths for the people she cares about, sometimes to her own detriment,” Magnus said, shaking his head at her willingness to rush in head first and damn the consequences.

Magnus sat quietly, wondering how Clary and Alec would react to each other. Alec seemed to be someone who followed orders and rules, someone who liked structure and a clear plan. His mate was the complete opposite of his best friend.

“What are we going to do, Magnus?” Alec asked, holding his mate tighter to him as he imagined how it could be if things were different. They would be able to meet each others family without fear of being punished for it. “I’m glad you have loyal friends, people that care for you, as I do, but it isn’t enough anymore,” he said.

“When I think about you, or more to the point, think about not being able to take you as my mate, I just feel empty,” Alec said, looking into Magnus’ eyes once again. “It’s as though someone has come along and cut a Magnus shaped hole in my gut. I don’t know if I’m going to make it an eternity without you,” he whispered.

“I know. I used to think Clary and Simon were all I needed. Then you came along. You’re all I can think about,” Magnus sighed, hating the situation they faced.

“It makes me feel sick, the thought of having to say goodbye. Just the thought of turning my back on you goes against every instinct I possess,” Magnus said, his eyes flicking back and forth between Alec’s hazel ones. “I barely make it out of my bed anymore. I’ve isolated myself, trying and failing miserably to push down the need for you,” he murmured.

“Me too. I threw myself into my training, trying to pretend like you didn’t exist. I literally had to fight every instinct in my body not to come looking for you. I was trying to stay away, for both of our sakes but… it’s just not going to work,” Alec said, seeing Magnus’ agreement in the nod of his head.

“I was fooling myself, thinking that I could just stay away and that would be it. But what options do we have? We can’t mate,” Magnus said.  _ But it's too hard to stay away from each other _ . That thought was even worse. “Even now, sitting in your lap, practically wrapped around your body, it feels like it’s not enough.”

“Maybe this is all we can ever have. It could be enough for me… if the alternative is never seeing you again. It would have to be because I can’t stand the thought of it, of us not even having this,” Alec said.

“We will never be able to mate,” Magnus said, silently agreeing with his mate.  _ If this was all we can have, it will have to be enough. _

“But at least we could still see each other, be together in some small way,” Alec said, looking into Magnus’ eyes.  _ Even if I can never take one of his feathers as my own, even if we can never share that bond that mated couples get to share, at least I’ll still be able to look into those eyes. _

“This isn’t going to go away, is it?” Magnus asked, brushing his thumb across Alec’s cheek when his Alpha shook his head, seeing that Alec had come to the same conclusion as him. “So we’ll just have to make the best of it.”

“It will be hard, not spending every day with you, but we can still have the nights,” Alec said. He leaned into Magnus’ touch, wanting to stay there forever. “We will just have to be careful. I hate the thought of lying to Jace and Izzy but if it means we still get to have each other, I can do it. For us.”

“It’s too dangerous. I know Clary and Simon would never tell anyone but someone could still find out. So I can lie if it means protecting you,” Magnus said, bending his head kiss Alec again. He couldn’t help it when he saw how sad his mate looked, they both needed the comfort.

Alec more than willingly accepted Magnus’ kiss, loving the way his small lips fit with his own. It was a soft brushing this time, barely a touch but it was everything. He took deep breaths at the stomach-clenching kisses Magnus pressed to his lips, his cheek, his jaw, the tip of his nose.

Alec’s eyes fluttered open for a moment, to look at Magnus, smiling against his lips when he saw Magnus looking too. The smile faded when he saw another pair of eyes watching them from his peripheral.

“Catarina,” Alec breathed, pulling back from Magnus when he realised the girl was awake. His heart pounded when she sat up, watching his every move. He looked up at his mate before Magnus’ head snapped around to look over his shoulder.

Magnus quickly climbed from Alec’s lap when he saw that the little girl was awake and watching them. He looked at Alec, both of them a little wide-eyed as it dawned on them that she had seen.  _ Fuck! _

“Catarina, you’re awake. I… we… this is Magnus my… friend,” Alec said lamely as he climbed to his feet, pulling Magnus up with him.

“Hello dear, it's nice to meet you,” Magnus said softly as he approached her slowly, not wanting to scare the child. Not as much as she had scared them. He took a seat next to the small mattress she sat on when she sat silently and clutched her knees to her chest.

Cat stared up at the man, Alec’s “friend”. She wasn’t stupid, she had seen them kissing. She looked into Magnus’ eyes, seeing the way they looked like Cat’s eyes.  _ They’re so pretty and they look kind, maybe he won’t be so bad. _

“Are you the demon I have to live with?” Cat asked, looking uncertainly from the other demon to the angel and back again.

“Yes, little one. Alec told me what happened to your mama, I’m so sorry. The same thing happened to me when I was a child, I lost my mama too,” Magnus said, reaching out and taking Cat’s hand when tears filled her eyes.

“Where do you live?” Cat asked as she swiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting to cry. She found she had an innate trust of Magnus.  _ If his mama died too then he knew how sad I am. And he is like me. _ Alec was nice and if he trusted Magnus then she could too.

“I live in a realm called Edom. I live there with my friends and my father,” Magnus said with a smile. “Alec told me that you injured your wing, can I have a look?” he asked.

Cat looked to Alec, turning around when he nodded. She unfurled her wings, biting down into her lip when pain ripped through her back and her wing. She buried her face in her knees when she felt a touch on her wing, unable to help the yelp that burst from her when pain ricocheted through her.

“You have beautiful wings, Catarina,” Magnus murmured as he inspected the girl's wing. He placed his hand over the wound where her wing joined her back, wincing at the small cries the girl let out, and poured his magic into it.

“Will your father be okay with you taking her there?” Alec asked quietly, watching Magnus’ magic heal Cat’s wing. He marvelled at how gentle Magnus was with her as the wound knitted back together, once again reminded that not all demons were mindless beasts.

“He won’t care. He likes rare and exotic things and she certainly is exotic,” Magnus said just as quietly. Her wings were unlike any he had seen before. “I’ll tell him I found her wondering around the mortal realm and decided to keep her,” he said.

Cat let out a deep sigh of relief when the pain in her back and wing stopped. She fluttered her wings experimentally when Magnus’ hands fell away, a small smile creeping onto her face when there was no pain.

“How did you do that?” Cat asked, turning to Magnus. “Can I do things like that?” she asked.

Magnus almost laughed at the wide-eyed expression of awe on the girl’s face, seeing his own smile mirrored on Alec’s face.

“Of course. I can teach you a few basics,” Magnus said, standing when Cat did. He watched as she rose a few feet into the air, furiously flapping her wings with her face screwed up in concentration. “Maybe I’ll give you a few flying lessons too. You don’t have to work so hard for it, little one,” he said.

“Are you coming with us, Alec?” Cat asked when she dropped out of the air and landed lightly on her feet to stare up at the big angel.

“I can’t, angel’s aren’t allowed in the demon realms,” Alec said.  _ Not if they want to stay alive.  _ Maybe he didn’t need to say that out loud. He exchanged a look with Magnus when he realised that they would have to ask Cat not to tell anyone about them. He wasn’t naive enough to think she hadn’t seen them kissing.

“Catarina, nobody in Edom can know about Alec and I kissing,” Magnus said, kneeling down in front of the girl as she looked from him to Alec and back again. “Demons and angels are not supposed to be together. We could get in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out,” he said.

“So it’s like a secret? Like my magic and wings with the mortals?” Cat asked.

“Yes, just like a secret,” Magnus said, relief flooding his tone when she nodded. He stood up again and took her hand.

“Will I see you again, Alec?” Cat asked when she realised it was time for them to leave. She didn’t want to leave him, even if he was an angel.

“If you want to, Magnus can bring you to the mortal realm sometimes if you like,” Alec said. He looked down in surprise when she broke from Magnus’ grip and wrapped her arms around his legs. He gently stroked his fingers through her hair after the initial surprise wore off, hearing a small sob rip from her.

“How about tomorrow?” Alec asked, kneeling down and pulling her into a proper hug. “You can tell me all about Magnus’ home, how about that?” he asked. He wiped the tears from her face and pressed his lips to her forehead when she nodded.

Cat’s eyes closed when she felt a calming power radiate from Alec’s lips. She gave him one last squeeze before letting go and stepping back.

“We will see you tomorrow then?” Magnus asked when Alec stood again. He found it easier to breathe this time, knowing it wouldn’t be the last time he would see his Alpha. It wasn’t perfect but it was better than nothing.

“See you tomorrow,” Alec said, giving Magnus’ hand a squeeze. He stepped back when Magnus unfurled his wings.

“May I?” Magnus asked, unfurling his wings and holding his arms out to Cat. He picked her up when she nodded. “Hold on tight, little one,” he whispered, giving his mate one last look before bending a knee and leaping into the air.

Alec leapt at the same time, unfurling his own wings to fly over the edge of the outcropping, watching them on their way. He continued watching until Magnus flew head first into his fiery portal before turning towards the heavens. Now all he had to do was lie right to his commanders face.  _ Fun!   _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallelujah! I'm doing a happy dance rn. There was no way they were going to make it without each other.


	6. When Lost Souls Find a Home

“I’m going to take you to see my friend, is that okay with you, Catarina?” Magnus asked when they passed through the portal to Edom, smiling encouragingly at the girl when her arms and legs tightened around his neck and waist. “Don’t be afraid, she’s nice,” he said.

“What’s her name?” Cat asked, looking around at the funny orange sky.  _ This place is a lot different than the mortal realm. There isn’t even any grass or real trees or a proper sun and it smells! _

“Her name is Clary. We can see if her mama has any clothes for you. This won’t last very long down here,” Magnus said, staring disdainfully at the sack she was wearing. “Her father is very... grumpy but her mama’s nice,” he said as he flew.

“There will be a lot of things that you won’t understand down here, little one. There are demons of all shapes and sizes. Some of them are very scary looking but they won’t hurt you as long as you are with me or one of my friends,” Magnus said.

Cat just nodded. She could see things flying in the distance but didn’t look too closely. She studied Magnus as they flew, wondering why his wings were black and hers weren’t, shrugging instead of asking. She wished her mother was there to explain things to her.

“I wish my mama could come too,” Cat whispered, hiding her face in Magnus’ neck so he wouldn’t see her crying.

Magnus held Cat closer, stroking his hand through the long ropes of her black hair as he flew. He remembered all too well what it was like to lose his mother. He landed when he reached Clary’s house, not far from his own home, and put Cat down, holding her hand as he knocked on the door.

“Remember, we can’t tell anyone about Alec, okay?” Magnus asked, gripping the girl’s hand a bit tighter when she just nodded.

Magnus stared at Cat when the girl’s blue skin turned dark as she nodded up at him. The door opened before he had the chance to ask the child about it. He turned to find Jocelyn staring out at them. “Jocelyn, I need your help,” he said.

“Magnus?” Jocelyne asked, her eyes darting to the little girl whose hand he was holding. She raised an eyebrow at him before stepping back to let him in. “Who is she?” she asked quietly.

“Catarina, this is Jocelyn, Clary’s mother. Jocelyn, this is Catarina or just Cat. She will be staying with me. I don’t suppose you’ve got any of Clary’s old clothes, have you?” Magnus asked, knowing it was a long shot.

“Are you joking? Clary is almost six hundred years old,” Jocelyn chuckled, looking down at the girl. It had been a long time since Clary had worn anything that would fit the little girl.

Jocelyn wondered where she had come from but thought it best not to ask. She knew, with the power that had been bestowed on her before her fall that Magnus was keeping something to himself but she let it be. “Come with me,” she said.

Magnus followed Jocelyn to Clary’s room, following her in when Clary called out for them to enter.

“Hey, biscuit. We need your help,” Magnus said, towing Cat into her room, pulling her from behind his back where she was trying to hide. “This is Cat, she will be staying with me. We need some clothes for her,” he said lamely, sighing when her eyes narrowed on him.

Cat looked up at the two women, Magnus’ friends. They were pretty, both with red hair and eyes and the same black and copper wings, they looked a lot like each other, like her and her mama. She thought their house was weird, it looked like a cave. It wasn’t like her house at all but it was nice.

“Sure, I’m sure we can find something,” Clary said, climbing from her bed when her mother started rifling through her closet. “Hi Catarina, it’s so nice to meet you. Why don’t you look through my clothing with my mother?” she asked as she tugged Magnus away from the little girl.

“Please tell me you didn’t steal a child from the mortal realm,” Clary hissed, staring at the little girl with the dark skin and long black hair as she wandered into the closet, looking scared and lost.

“I  _ found  _ her in the mortal realm. She is a demon, not a mortal,” Magnus hissed back, his own gaze following Cat.

“You know your father will kick your ass if he finds out you’ve been going to the mortal realm again,” Clary said, stealing his attention from the little girl.

“What does it matter as long as I come back?” Magnus muttered.

“Where are her parents?” Clary asked, grabbing his arm when Magnus tried to turn away. “What’s going on with you lately? You lock yourself away from us for a week, hide from us every night and now you turn up with a child, talking about her coming to stay with you?” she asked.

“She doesn’t have any parents. And nothing is going on with me. I needed some time to myself and I took it, that’s all. Look, she has no one so I’m taking her in, that’s all you need to know,” Magnus said, feeling like an asshole when he saw the hurt expression on Clary’s face.

“Please, just drop it,” Magnus asked, squeezing her hand. “I'm fine, honestly. Catarina’s mother was killed by a pack of Ravener demons, she doesn't have anyone else, she needs someone to look after her,” he said.

Clary looked Magnus over. He looked better, not as sad as he had over the last week or so. She understood his need to help the child, she knew his story and Cat had the same lost look that Magnus used to have as a child. She squeezed back and nodded, knowing that he would tell her when he was ready.

“Thank you, biscuit,” Magnus said, smiling as he pulled her towards her closet. They found Jocelyn holding a pair of leather pants against Cat’s waist and shaking her head. “Any luck?” he asked.

“Clary has plenty of stuff but it will all need to be fixed, the poor thing is like a rake and short too,” Jocelyn said. “Why don’t the two of you carry on looking and I will get her something to eat?” she asked.

“Thank you, Jocelyn,” Magnus said, taking the pants from her hands and adding them to a small pile of clothing before kneeling in front of Cat. “Catarina, why did you change your skin colour?” he asked, shaking his head at Clary when he saw the questioning look on her face.

“The Warlock said I have to do that when I meet new people. Am I not supposed to?” Cat asked, looking up at Magnus.  _ He looks confused.  _ “He said I have to hide my skin and my wings because people won’t understand and they will be scared of me,” she explained.

“What is a Warlock?” Clary asked, measuring the top in her hands against Cat’s torso. The thing looked like a dress on her.

“The man in the mortal realm,” Cat said, looking from Clary to Magnus to Jocelyn who had come back with a plate of food. She took the bread and cheese and sat down to eat, starving. “He is like us, he has magic but he doesn’t have wings,” she said before shovelling the food in.

“Maybe you should tell us about him,” Magnus said when Clary shrugged her shoulders and Jocelyn peered down at Cat with an equally confused expression on her face.

“My mama said she was scared when I was born, because of what I looked like. Because she didn’t know what I was. She looked for a long time for someone else like me. We had to move around and hide all the time, my mama sold the cures she made from plants to get food and shelter because lot’s of mortals tried to kill me,” Cat said when she swallowed, before taking another bite.

“We travelled a lot until she found the Warlock. He told her I was a demon and taught me how to produce a glamour, to hide what I was. He said I had to wear it all the time so I didn’t scare the humans and then they wouldn’t try to kill me,” Cat said.

“Well you don’t have to hide yourself down here, little one,” Magnus said, nodding to Cat when she looked up from her plate. He watched as Cat’s skin turned blue again, smiling his encouragement at the terrified look on her face. “There is no one to hide from here, little one.”

“He told me all about demons and angels and said that one day my father would come for me and that I had to go with him because I wasn’t supposed to live in the mortal realm. My mama didn’t want my father to take me away. She found a small village to hide in but they came anyway. We tried to kill them but there were too many,” Cat said quietly.

Magnus pulled Cat onto his lap when he saw the tears in her eyes, stroking his hands through her hair as she cried into his leather top. He looked up at Jocelyn, seeing the nod of her head.

“She is telling the truth. Although, I don’t know what a Warlock is,” Jocelyn said, detecting no lies from the child. “I’ve never heard of this kind of demon before. I didn’t even know there were any living in the mortal realm, not that I’ve been there,” she said with a shrug.

“What was the Warlock’s name?” Clary asked Cat, pushing the girl’s plate closer when Cat dried her eyes. “Did he say who he was?” she asked.

“No, he taught me how to do a couple of things with my magic, like a glamour. He taught me how to fly a little bit and then he left. That was a few full moon’s ago, we haven't seen him since.” Cat said.

“It’s my fault, my mama and all the people are dead because of me. If we didn’t hide there, they would have been okay. If I knew more magic I could have helped them,” Cat said, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

“That was not your fault, little one,” Magnus said, tilting Cat’s chin up to look her in the eye. “It was not your fault. It doesn’t matter where you were living, they would have come for you anyway. The same thing happened to me when I was a child,” he said.

“You mustn’t blame yourself, sweetheart,” Jocelyn said, taking a seat on the closet floor next to Magnus and pulling Cat into her lap, wrapping her up in a tight hug.

“It is a mama’s job to protect her baby. She wasn’t strong enough to fight demons but I know that she loved you, very much, because she tried. You will understand one day when you have your own children. She wouldn’t be sad because you are safe now, something that she would gladly give her life for,” Jocelyn said. She would have done the same for Clary.

“Why don’t we try some of these clothes on?” Clary asked, giving her mother’s shoulder a squeeze before helping Cat stand up. She raised an eyebrow at Magnus until he got the hint and left them to it. She helped Cat on with the clothes, adjusting them with her magic until they fit the girl, steadily building a pile of clothes until Cat had enough.

“Why don’t you let your wings out? We can see if we need to make any adjustments in the back,” Jocelyn said to Cat, staring at the beautiful wings that unfurled from Cat’s back, Clary doing the same.“Your wings are beautiful, sweetheart,” she murmured.

“Is it comfortable? Can you fly?” Clary asked, inspecting Cat’s wings. She watched as Cat flapped them hard, rising a foot or so off the ground. She waved her hand, adjusting the racer-style back of the sleeveless tunic Cat was wearing until she had more room.

“I don’t think it’s the material restricting her movements,” Jocelyn said, smiling at the fierce concentration on Cat’s face as she flapped her wings furiously. She remembered well when she had taught Clary to fly. “You will get there, sweetheart,” she said when Cat stopped flapping and dropped to the ground.

Cat followed Clary and Jocelyn from the closet when they thought she had enough clothes, to find Magnus waiting for them on Clary’s bed.

“Much better,” Magnus said, grinning when he saw the dark purple leather pants and tunic Cat was wearing, glad to see her wings, standing out two foot on either side of her skinny body. “That shift you had on wouldn’t have done you any good down here, little one,” he said, seeing the way she clung to it. He realised it was the only thing she still had from the mortal realm.

“Why don’t we go and see to getting a room set up for you?” Magnus asked, taking the pile of clothes from Jocelyn’s arms. He led the way from Clary’s room, the three of them following him out.

“Valentine,” Magnus said, nodding to Clary’s father when he almost bumped into him outside Clary’s room.

“More demons! Must she always bring demons into this house?” Valentine muttered, glaring at the small demon who tried to hide behind Magnus before stalking off.  _ Damned demons are everywhere! _

“Pay him no mind, dear,” Jocelyn said, taking Cat’s hand when she saw her trying to hide. “He’s just grumpy because he has to live down here,” she said. Grumpy was an understatement but she felt she didn’t need to scare the child anymore.

“Why did he say that? Isn’t he a demon too?” Cat whispered, watching the man walk into a room down the hall and slam a door behind him.  _ He is scary, and mean!  _ “Is he sad because he doesn't have wings?”

“My mate doesn’t like his wings, he keeps them retracted. He and I weren’t always demons, we used to be angels and have white wings. Val was… bad at being an angel though so we came to live down here instead,” Jocelyn said, choosing her words carefully.

“What’s a mate?” Cat asked, confusion sweeping through her when Magnus shuffled on the spot and Clary and Jocelyn grinned at each other. Probably because Magnus looked so uncomfortable.

“The joys of raising children,” Jocelyn said, chuckling at the uncomfortable look on Magnus’ face. She opened her mouth to explain before changing her mind. If Magnus was going to take the girl on then he had to learn to have the uncomfortable conversations. “I’ll leave you to it. Have fun, Magnus,” she said, showing them out.

Clary did her best to hide her grin when she followed Magnus and Cat out of the door, winking at her mother before the door closed behind them.

“When… there are…” Magnus didn’t know quite what to say to the little girl looking inquisitively up at him as they started out for his father’s home. He scowled at Clary when she started laughing.

“When you’re older, Cat, you will meet a girl or a boy demon. If you like them, you will take one of their feathers and give them one of yours,” Clary said as they walked, taking pity on Magnus. “The giving of feathers is like a promise, it binds you to them for the rest of your lives. You will love them and spend the rest of your lives together,” she said.

“Some people have what is called a true mate, someone that was made to be the other half of them,” Magnus said, thinking of Alec. “If you have a true mate, you will know it the minute you meet them. You will just know that you are supposed to be together, their soul, their scent, everything about them will call out to you,” he said quietly.

“You would be very sad without them because they are your person, as much a part of you as your feathers or your hands or your soul and you would miss them terribly if you weren’t together,” Magnus said, ignoring the way Clary was gaping at him.

Cat looked up at Magnus, hearing the sadness in his voice. She didn’t really understand but she thought of Alec when Magnus spoke of mate’s.  _ Maybe Alec is his mate and he is sad because they are not allowed to be together.  _ She took his hand when he held it out to her.

“I’m not sure if I believe in true mate’s or not,” Clary said, watching Magnus and Cat, they looked as sad as each other. That was one of the things she loved about Magnus, his empathy to feel the pain of others, even if it was to his detriment.

“Don’t you think your parents are true mates?” Magnus asked Clary, thinking of his conversation with Alec. “wouldn’t that explain why she followed him when she could have stayed up there?” he asked when she shrugged.

“Maybe, they love each other deeply, even if my mother doesn't agree with his opinions of the angels and their place in the universe,” Clary said. She smiled down at Cat. “My father thinks that angels are the highest form of life, that they should rule over the mortal realm and all demons should be destroyed,” she said.

“That’s silly, he is a demon now,” Cat said, her face screwing up in confusion.

“I know, he is a silly man. When he was in heaven, before I was born, he led an attack on one of the demon realms. A lot of angels got hurt, badly. He was sent to live in Edom as a punishment and stripped of his status as an angel. My mother came with him,” she said.

“Love will make you do strange things,” Magnus said quietly. He thought that maybe he wasn’t in love with Alec, that he didn’t know enough about his angel to call it love. But he would be a liar if he said he didn’t see the potential, that he wasn’t already sliding head first without a wing and a prayer down that slippery slope.

Magnus mused quietly to himself on Alec.  _ Not only did he spare a demon child’s life, but he also saved her. He buried her mother and brought her somewhere she could be protected, at great risk to himself. And he lied for her. He is fast, strong, protective, beautiful. Everything a man could ask for in a mate. I probably will have fallen for him before I even realise it. _

Alec was probably the most compelling, intriguing and definitely the most beautiful person he had ever met. Better still, Alec seemed to be just as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside. Magnus looked up when Simon landed next to them and took some of the clothes from his and Clary’s grasps as Clary filled him in.

“So you just found a child in the mortal realm and decided to bring her home?” Simon asked Magnus, his eyebrows in his hairline. He didn’t miss the look Cat and Magnus exchanged as he studied the two.

“What was I supposed to do, just leave her to wander around and fend for herself?” Magnus asked as they reached the gates of his father’s home, rolling his eyes when Simon stared at him. To say it was a large house would be an understatement but it wasn’t exactly a palace. It was something in between.

Cat looked up at the huge house when they pushed through a tall gate. It didn’t look very comfortable, even if it was big. She silently wondered how many people lived there and if Magnus’ father would be nice.

“There are several demons that live here, little one,” Magnus said, unknowingly reading Cat’s thoughts. “Most of them look scary but they are harmless enough,” He said as he led the way inside. He held her hand a little tighter when Cat moved closer.

“You don’t have to be afraid here, Catarina. You will always be safe within these walls,” Magnus said. He led them all through the halls of his father’s home until they reached his room, dumping all of Cat’s new clothes on the bed.

Magnus beckoned Clary, Cat and Simon to follow him back out into the hall. He had the entire wing to himself, just how he liked it, so he led them into the empty room to the right of his bedroom, between his bedroom and living room and looked around.

“Is this big enough for you, little one?” Magnus asked as Clary opened the heavy curtains at the window. He inspected the empty, dusty room, smiling when Cat looked around the large closet and washroom that adjoined the room.

“Is this all for me?” Cat asked, wandering around the huge room, it was larger than her old house. The walls were all like Clary’s house, like a cave, but it was nice. She watched in awe as Simon and Magnus started conjuring things with their magic. A large bed, furniture and rugs, while Clary cleaned the dust and dirt away.

“Of course it is, every little girl needs her own room. Much better, don’t you think?” Clary asked. she summoned Cat’s clothes from Magnus’ room and hung them up in the closet, looking down at the girl, seeing the lost, overwhelmed expression on her face. “I know it’s a lot to deal with but we are all here for you, okay? Anytime you want to talk, I’ll be here to listen,” she said.

A smile spread over Magnus’ face when he saw Clary and Cat talking and Cat gave Clary a hug. He had hoped they would hit it off, that Cat would have some female company. Their home wasn’t exactly crawling with women, it was more of a bachelor pad in all honesty.

Magnus set the finishing touches in place with some pretty blankets before wandering over to the now fully stocked closet and taking Cat’s hand.

“Come on, I’ll take you to meet my father,” Magnus said, thinking it best to get it over and done with. He shook his head when Simon and Clary offered to come with them, leaving them to make themselves at home in his living room before leading Cat through the hallways to his father's wing on the opposite side of the house.

“Don’t pay any mind to anything my father says,” Magnus said as they drew closer to his father’s apartment. “What do you think of Clary and Simon?” he asked.

“They’re nice. Simon’s eyes are scary but he is nice,” Cat said quietly. She had been scared at first, when she had seen his black eyes but he was funny and had been nice to her, revealing that he wasn’t that scary after all.

“Simon is a big softy,” Magnus chuckled, conceding that his eyes were very… demonic. He couldn’t even imagine someone being scared of Simon though. “We are here,” he said, raising his hand to knock on his father’s living room door, pushing through the door when Asmodeus called out for them to enter.

“Father, this is Catarina. She will be staying with us,” Magnus said when they entered, refusing to ask for Asmodeus’ permission. He found his father lounging on a  low sofa, a book in hand. His eyes narrowed when Asmodeus snapped his book closed and rose to his feet.

“Staying with us?” Asmodeus asked, approaching his son and the small girl trying to hide behind him. “Who is she and where did you get her?” he asked, watching the girl peek out from the behind Magnus.

“I found her, wandering the mortal realm. She has no family so I thought I would keep her,” Magnus said, clenching Cat’s hand a little tighter when Asmodeus’ eyes flashed.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stay away from the mortal realm? It is not for demons,” Asmodeus said, glaring at the defiant look on Magnus’ face. He inspected the child when Magnus didn’t answer him, taking note of her blue skin and the beautiful wings poking out of her back as he circled them.

Cat stared up at Magnus’ father, flinching when he walked around her and Magnus.  _ He is scarier than Clary’s father. He looks a lot like Magnus but he doesn't have the kindness in his eyes that Magnus does, even though they are the same. His eyes look… cruel. _ It was a startling thought.

“She is a beauty. You may keep your pet but stay out of the mortal realm, Magnus,” Asmodeus said, taking a seat on the sofa once more. “Stay for tea,” he said when Magnus nodded and turned to leave.

“Clary and Simon are waiting for us,” Magnus said before turning for the door once more. He barely held back the sigh when Asmodeus spoke again as he reached the door.

“Camille will be here by month’s end. I expect you to treat her as our guest. I will not tolerate any rudeness on your part, is that clear?” Asmodeus asked when Magnus reached the door.

“I will be civil but I still refuse to mate her,” Magnus said over his shoulder, ignoring the growl that escaped his father to open the door and usher Cat through it. He let out a sigh of relief when the door closed behind him before deciding to return to his quarters.

“Magnus?” Cat asked, looking up at the man she was now expected to live with. She tugged his hand until he looked down at her, a faraway expression on his face. “Why did he call me your pet?” she asked, wondering if that was how Magnus thought of her.

“Because he doesn’t understand kindness the way other people do. He thinks I want to keep you around out of amusement rather than any desire to look after you,” Magnus said gently, picking Cat up when he saw the hurt look on her face. “He is wrong, that is not how I see you, little one. Like I said, pay him no mind.”

Cat just nodded, relief washing through her at Magnus’ words. She didn’t want to be anyone’s pet. She couldn’t help the yawn that escaped her as she settled in Magnus’ embrace, still tired after so many things happening in such a small amount of time.

“I think you need to get some sleep,” Magnus chuckled when he saw Cat trying to hide the yawn. He took her back to her room, even though she tried to protest, insisting she wasn’t that tired and tucked her into her new bed when her eyes started drooping.

Magnus sat on the edge of the bed when Cat tightened her grip on his hand and watched over her as she fell asleep. He stroked his hand through her hair, hoping he was doing the right thing by bringing her into his father’s home, realising that he had formed a quick bond with the girl.

_ I suppose that’s what happens when you meet someone that is just as lost as you.  _ He mused as he watched over her.


	7. Facilis Est Descensus Ad Inferos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for some soft shit? And some backstory? And some explanations? And some sad shit?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fam, we've been fed! Today's sneak peek was epic! Even if Alec is obviously still in pain. **sobs**
> 
> My theory is that Alec was feeling guilty that Magnus lost his magic, because he's Alec and he always takes the blame on himself **cries hard** and Magnus pretending everything is fine is probably making it worse. 
> 
> Magnus is probably trying to make Alec feel better while he deals with it internally by sweeping it under the rug **cries harder** how kind of the clave to give Alec one whole day off to recover!!! **eye roll**
> 
> I reckon Alec will obsess over Magnus not being able to defend himself with magic anymore, leading him to force Magnus to train with him and Magnus will agree to put Alec's mind at ease. **snots all over myself while big fat tears roll down my cheeks**
> 
> Anyway, happy #MalecMonday! #SaveShadowhunters!!!!

 

Alec landed on the outcropping as the sun was setting. He laughed at himself, at the eager expression he knew he was wearing, the corners of his mouth tugged up in a smile that he hadn’t been able to banish since waking.

The smile was a combination of finally getting a decent sleep after more than a week of sleepless days and nights, the best sleep he had had in aeons, of knowing that Magnus would be there soon, and the relief that had filled him when he and Magnus had agreed to see each other.

_ Even if it’s in secret and we can’t mate, at least we will still have each other. It will be enough. _

Alec’s musings were interrupted by the sight of his mate flying low over the lake. A grin spread across his face.  _ Seem’s I’m not the only eager one.  _ The thought had a laugh bubbling out of him as he took to the sky, flying forward to meet Magnus.

“Do you need a hand?” Alec asked when he spotted how full his mate’s hands were. He took Cat in his arms to free Magnus up when he saw that Magnus was trying to juggle Cat and a large wicker basket. “Hello, Cat, you look a little better,” he said, taking in the girl’s black leather outfit.

It didn’t take long for his eyes to flick back to Magnus, drinking him in. A sense of contentment and peace filled him as he turned back for the outcropping, Magnus flying at his side.  _ As it should be! _

“We raided Clary’s closet for her,” Magnus said with a grin, taking in every inch of his Alpha, looking beautiful in a bronze leather vest and pants combination that almost had him salivating.  _ Those arms! Those runes! That perfect ass in those tight pants! _

“I have lots of clothes now and a huge room all for myself,” Cat said, a small smile flitting over her face as she tightened her hold on Alec’s neck.  _ I’d rather have my mama than all the clothes and nice rooms in the world. _

Alec tightened his hold on Cat for a moment when he heard the sob build in her chest, her breath hitching against his neck before he landed on the outcropping, he could guess where her thoughts had gone.

“You’ll be okay, Cat,” Alec whispered as he put the girl down, looking down at the tough expression she pulled onto her face.  _ She’s a fighter.  _ The thought came as she brushed her tears away before they could fall. He smiled when she nodded.

“Why don’t you show Alec what we brought with us, little one?” Magnus asked, putting the basket down next to Cat to distract her when he landed next to them. He stole a quick kiss from Alec when Cat busied herself with the basket, grinning at the surprised but pleased look on his Alpha’s face when he stood on his tiptoes to brush his lips against Alec’s.

Alec had to fight himself to stop from pulling Magnus closer, a broad smile crossing his face as his heart rate accelerated. He wanted to pull Magnus close and kiss him until they were both dizzy but settled for behaving himself when Cat started emptying the basket they had brought with them.

“What’s all this?” Alec asked, grabbing Magnus’ hand and pulling him down to sit on the woollen blanket Cat had pulled out and spread on the rocky ground. He grinned when Magnus practically sat in his lap. Almost! He would have been quite happy for Magnus to sit on his lap but settled for Magnus sitting flush to his side. He turned his attention to the contents of the basket.

“We thought we would bring some food and have dinner together,” Magnus murmured, conjuring them some plates with a wave of his hand. He held them as Cat started loading them up with bread, cheese and meat.

“We’re so hungry but Magnus said we had to wait,” Cat muttered absentmindedly as she dished up their dinner.

“Catarina likes to eat. She told me quite clearly that she would die if she didn’t get her dinner soon,” Magnus chuckled, laughing at the expression she had worn when he had told her she had to wait until they got to the mortal realm to eat.

“Well, we mustn’t keep a lady waiting,” Alec chuckled, taking the cheese from Cat’s hands and handing her a loaded plate instead as he finished serving them. He had to bite his lip when she started wolfing the food down.

“Is she settling in okay?” Alec asked quietly as he handed his mate a plate of food, both of them watching Cat eat for a moment and trying not to laugh.

“Yes, I introduced her to Clary and Simon. Clary’s mother sorted some clothes out for her. I also introduced her to my father,” Magnus said, chewing his bread thoughtfully.

“How did it go? Was he okay with her being there?” Alec asked, watching Magnus eat. He watched every movement, knowing he was staring and not giving a fuck, he couldn’t help himself.  _ He is too beautiful not to look at. _

“It went better than expected, he didn’t pry too much,” Magnus said when Alec shrugged with a huge grin on his face. He had been fighting his own grin since he had woken, sprawled on the bed next to Cat, having fallen asleep when she did.

“He called me Magnus’ pet!” Cat said indignantly as she grabbed more bread. “But Magnus said I’m not. I think his father is mean. He needs some nice friends like Clary and Simon,” she said.

Magnus blinked at Cat’s statement, staring at the perceptive little girl.  _ Did she pick that up after one five minute meeting?  _ He privately agreed with her. His father could probably do with people that would be there to check his behaviour.  _ Never thought I’d miss Lilith! _

“How did it go when you got back? Were Isabelle and Jace okay with you being gone so long?” Magnus asked to distract Alec when he saw the glow emanating from his Alpha, probably at Cat’s words.

“Izzy tried to ring the details from me until Jace stopped her, she wanted to know everything. I managed to brush her off,” Alec sighed. The sad expression on his face turned to a smile when Magnus took his hand between their bodies where Cat couldn’t see. “I reported everything, except for the part about Cat, to Raziel,” he said.

“Did he believe you?” Magnus asked quietly, pushing Alec’s plate closer when he noticed that Alec hadn’t eaten anything yet and raising his eyebrows at his mate until he started eating.

“Yes, he thinks it was just a random attack,” Alec said before tucking in, wondering if Magnus was always a hardass about taking care of people. He watched as Magnus piled more food onto Cat’s plate. He imagined them sitting around a table, eating like a family, Magnus fussing over their children.

Alec started shovelling his food down to distract himself from the image, not allowing it to take root. He smiled for his mate when Magnus looked up at him, from his own plate.

“What about Clary and Simon?” Alec asked, knowing how Magnus felt just from the look that crossed his Omega’s face.

“They bought it. I just hate lying to them,” Magnus said, guilt welling up in him at the lies and half-truths he had already told.

“Me too,” Alec said. He skimmed his thumb over the back of Magnus’ hand, wanting to comfort him. They both knew what they had to do, even if they didn’t like it.

“What is heaven like?” Cat asked when she finished her dinner, clutching her knees to look up at Alec. She didn’t miss the way Magnus raised his eyebrows before turning to Alec.  _ He probably wants to know too. _

Alec looked from Cat to Magnus, smiling when he saw the matching looks of curiosity on their faces. He thought about his home realm for a moment, trying to think of how to describe it, how to convey the beauty of the realm and the sense of contentment that the place filled him with, a small sigh escaping him.

_ “ _ The heavens are vast, almost seeming to be endless with many realms. There are many angels that make up The Host. All of the original angels, the first angels, were tasked with a specific job when we were created,” Alec said, thinking of the thousands of angels and the tasks they were created for.

“Some of us were created to be warriors, some to keep the balance between good and bad. Some of us were created to protect and some were even created just to make music or to look after a single blade of grass,” Alec said.

“What does it look like there? Edom looks funny, it has a big orange sky and there’s no proper sun there or proper trees. There is no grass there, I don’t think. Does heaven look like that?” Cat asked.

“No, it is made up of many places. There are groves of fruit that go on for days and beautiful fountains that flow with the waters of life. There are pretty garden’s to sit in when you need to be alone,” Alec said, smiling at the wonder on Cat’s face. He thought it best not to mention the vast arena that the warriors of The Heavenly Fire trained in.  _ They don’t need to know about that. _

“It sounds wonderful,” Magnus said, smiling at the clear love his angel had for his home realm. He couldn’t say the same himself. He loved his friends, they were more of a home to him than Edom itself was. But he couldn’t say that he loved Edom with that same reverence that Alec obviously felt for the heavens.

“How about some of those flying lessons, Catarina?” Magnus asked to distract himself from his maudlin thoughts. “Have you seen her fly?” he asked when he saw the quirk of Alec’s eyebrow.

Alec chose not to comment on Cat’s flying abilities. She had the basics but there was nothing natural or graceful when Cat flew. He chose to watch instead when Cat’s eyes lit up and she jumped to her feet, unfurling her wings.

“How about a demonstration first?” Magnus asked. He gave Alec’s hand a squeeze before getting to his own feet. He spread his wings, fluttering the edge of his right wing against Alec’s face before launching himself into the air.

“Watch how he moves, Cat,” Alec said, taking Cat’s wrist when she made to follow, standing up himself. “See how he only moves his wings when he needs to? He is conserving energy. You don’t need to flap them continuously, it’s more like gliding than flying,” he said, watching every move Magnus made.

“When the cold air meets naturally warm air, it creates a funnel, what we call a thermal, of warm air. He uses those to keep himself aloft without having to flap,” Alec said, grinning when Magnus flew a few loops in the air. He loved how carefree Magnus looked in the air.

“It looks fun! I never got to fly a lot when I lived here. I always had to hide my wings in case the mortals saw them,” Cat said, watching Magnus twirl and glide through the air.

“Well you don’t have to hide them anymore,” Alec said, breaking his gaze on Magnus to look down at Cat, laughing at the way she was practically bouncing. “Come on, let's see what you’ve got,” he said, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep her grounded for long.

Cat grinned up at Alec, letting go of his hand to concentrate. She flapped her wings, hard, grinning when she rose a couple of feet off the ground, almost level with his shoulder. She dropped to the ground, narrowing her eyes at Alec when he started to laugh.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh,” Alec said, schooling his features when Cat glared at him. “It’s easier if you jump first and catch yourself with your wings, like this,” he said, bending his knees and focusing his strength to launch himself into the air.

Cat watched Alec rise thirty feet before he spread his wings. She watched him float back to the ground, studying the way he only beat his wings a little bit as he dropped. She watched the way he landed lightly on his feet, wondering if she would be as graceful. She didn’t miss the way he kept watching Magnus.

“Now you try it,” Alec said, dragging his eyes away from Magnus’ magnificent display to look down at Cat. “Don’t worry, your body knows what to do. Just push off with all of your strength. When you reach the apex of your jump, spread your wings and they will catch you,” he said.

“What’s an apex? How will I know when to do it?” Cat asked, chewing her lip. It looked fun and Alec and Magnus made it look easy but she was wondering if she could do it herself.

“The apex is when you’ve jumped as high as you can go. You will know when you get a funny little swoop in your stomach as you start to fall back down to the ground. Just spread your wings when that happens and you’ll be fine,” Alec said, nodding encouragingly.

Cat bent her knees, the way Alec and Magnus had, and jumped. She jumped as high as she could, waiting for the swoop as she looked down, seeing the worried look on Alec’s face. It had her panicking for a minute, especially when she began to fall.

“Spread your wings, Cat,” Alec called when he saw Cat start to fall from her twenty-foot jump. He jumped himself, the hammering of his heart slowing down slightly when Cat’s wings spread out either side of her, slowing her fall down.

Alec had to fight the laugh that wanted to burst from him when Cat started flapping her arms just as hard as she was flapping her wings. He took her tiny hands in his own, to help hold her up.

“You don’t have to work so hard for it, little one,” Magnus called when he flew over Cat and Alec. his heart was beating double time at the sight of Alec holding her up, and at the worried expression on Alec’s face.  _ So fucking adorable! _

“Use the warm air to keep yourself up, keep your wings steady when you fly over it,” Magnus said, beckoning them towards the thermal that was keeping him afloat. “You’re doing so well,” he said when Cat straightened her wings out.

Cat let a laugh out when she felt the warm air on the underside of her wings. She dared to let go of Alec’s hands, keeping her wings still when he flew underneath her. “Like this?” she asked, looking up at Magnus who was flying above her.  _ They look like a pair of worried old grandma’s! _

Magnus had to work to keep his heart rate down, reminding himself that Cat’s body would take over, even if she was almost 100 feet up in the air. He watched her give her wings a small flap now and then to continue gaining altitude before his gaze slid to Alec, beneath her with his hands raised.

“Let’s try and move away from the thermal,” Magnus said to distract himself from the image of Alec worrying over a small child of their own. He could already see the kind of father Alec would be, from the way he was acting with Cat, refusing to move from beneath her with his arms outstretched.

“Angle your body to change direction,” Magnus said, demonstrating for Cat. “Beat your wings with sporadic, harder beats instead of flapping them continuously, little one,” he said, showing Cat how to conserve her energy.

Cat copied Magnus’ movement, watching the way he flapped his wings hard then straightened them out to glide. She followed him, smiling when she felt the next gush of warm air on the underside of her wings.

Alec followed beneath Cat, ready to catch her if her wings or energy gave out. He remembered how exhausting it was when first learning, even if it had been centuries since he had had to learn himself. He felt pride flood him when Cat stopped flapping her arms and glided gracefully on the next thermal.

“Perfect! You’ll be flying distances in no time, Cat,” Alec said, smiling when she looked down at him. His gaze slid to Magnus’ his smile growing wider when he saw his mate watching him.

“Alec, can you dance, like Magnus does?” Cat asked, not knowing how else to describe Magnus when he was flying, it looked like dancing to her.

“I can, but I don’t look as good when I fly like that, I’m not as graceful as he is,” Alec said, watching Magnus almost choke on air as he flew closer to the pair.

“Don’t listen to him, Catarina. He is mesmerising when he let’s go,” Magnus said when he heard Alec’s reply. He took Cat in his arms when he saw her wings begin to quiver and nodded to his Alpha, watching as Alec took off. “Watch,” he whispered.

Cat wound her arms around Magnus’ neck and watched as Alec started to fly as fast as Magnus had. She grinned when she heard his laugh as he twirled in the air.  _ He looks a lot more graceful when he flies. He’s too big on the ground, but he looks nice when he flies. And happy! _

“Can I fly like that, Magnus?” Cat asked, craning her neck to watch Alec fly in circles around them.

“Of course, with a little practice. But you must wait for me or Alec, Clary or Simon before you do it on your own, just until you’re strong enough,” Magnus said, his stomach flopping around as he watched his mate fly. “It will hurt if you fall from the sky with no one to catch you,” he said, giving her a look when she let out an irritated huff.

“I am a big girl, Magnus,” Cat said, ignoring how tired she felt from the little amount of flying she had already done.

“Of course you are, you’re strong and brave. But it still hurts when you bang your head, trust me!” Magnus said, remembering how he had thought he was big enough, and all of the resulting scrapes and bangs he had received due to that conviction.

“It takes time to build up enough strength in your wings to be able to fly for long periods, especially if you’re not used to using them. You’re bigger than most children are when they learn to fly, most of us start when we’re around four or five. Your body is bigger which means you’ll be putting more of a strain on your wings,” Magnus said gently, smiling when Cat conceded his point with a nod and barely a roll of her eyes.

Magnus looked up when he heard a rustle of wings to see Alec breathing hard above them. It had his wayward mind wandering, wondering what else would make Alec breathe like that.

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Alec said, gesturing to the outcropping. He followed Magnus, landing lightly on his feet. “Why don’t you practice taking off for a little while?” he asked Cat, smiling when her eyes lit up. “Not too high though!” he warned when she bent her legs.

Magnus pulled Alec away from Cat, retracting his wings and taking a seat on the blanket to watch Cat. He leaned into him when Alec retracted his wings and took a seat, inhaling his mate’s scent.

“I missed you today,” Alec said quietly as he watched Cat spread her wings to slow her fall. He pulled Magnus a little closer, wrapping his arm around his mate, needing the contact more than he thought was possible.

“I missed you too,” Magnus murmured.  _ Missed is an understatement, needed more like.  _ The need to be with Alec was almost a constant feeling that sat in his gut all day, only abating when they were close.

“Was your father really okay with Cat being there?” Alec asked now that Cat was out of earshot. He knew there was nothing he could do if Magnus said no but he still worried, he had grown fond of the girl in the small amount of time he had known her, feeling a sense of responsibility towards her.

“Yes, he doesn’t really care. He thinks she is an amusement and I’m happy to let him continue thinking that way,” Magnus said.  _ He wouldn’t harm her but I’m sure he would find some way to use her against me, to get what he wants if he thinks she means any more than that to me.  _ He chose not to say that aloud.

“My father doesn’t really understand the bonds of friendship or love,” Magnus said when Alec looked at him inquiringly. “He is used to a life of decadence and gets bored easily. I think he sees everything as an amusement. To him, everything is there to distract him from the boredom immortality brings,” he said with a shake of his head.

“That sounds like a miserable existence if you ask me,” Alec said, wondering if Magnus was including himself when he spoke of Asmodeus’ amusements. He tried to imagine what it was like, growing up in an environment like that. It had him marvelling at his mate, at the person Magnus was despite his circumstances.

Alec looked at Magnus. His eyes swept over every inch of the pretty face that stared back at him, tracing the edges of Magnus’ lips, the straight line of his nose, the small, triangular eyebrows.  _ He really is beautiful! _

“Even though we can’t mate, I still feel like I’m the luckiest angel in The Host,” Alec murmured, unable to filter the thoughts that flowed from his lips. It was true, he felt like he had been handed the most precious gift in Magnus, one that he knew he would cherish for the rest of their existence.

“I think I’m the lucky one,” Magnus said, a smile ghosting his lips when he saw the beautiful pink blush on Alec’s face.  _ He is so adorable!  _ He inspected Alec’s face, watching his emotions play across his perfect features.

Alec grinned when Magnus leaned in and kissed him, trying to fight the smile to kiss Magnus back. He raised his hand, sliding his fingers into Magnus’ hair to hold his head closer as their lips moved against each other’s. It was a soft kiss, just a few pecks but it had his heart racing and his hand tightening in Magnus’ hair.

Magnus pulled back for a moment, smirking when he heard the hitch in Alec’s breathing, forgetting that his own breath was coming a little faster, before leaning in once more, kissing the corners of Alec’s mouth when a grin tugged them up. He had almost forgotten about Cat until a thud had him breaking away to look up.

“I think her wings have taken all they can for tonight,” Alec murmured when he saw Cat climb to her feet. He had to admire the look of determination on her face as she bent her shaking legs once more.

“I think that’s enough for tonight, little one,” Magnus called, smiling when Cat looked over at him, incredulity all over her face, even as she tried to stifle a yawn. “You’ve worn yourself out. Don’t worry, you’ll be flying in no time,” he called.

“Lilith help me when she is,” Magnus muttered under his breath when Cat gave up and made her way over to them. He grinned when he heard the low chuckle Alec let out.

“You’ll be chasing her all over Edom when she is,” Alec laughed, cutting himself short when he realised what he had said. “Will she be safe?” he asked Magnus.

“Don’t worry, she won't be going anywhere without me,” Magnus said with a faint smile. “Will you, Catarina?” he asked.

“No, I’ll stay with you or Clary or Simon,” Cat said when she saw the stern look on Magnus’ face. She had no desire to go exploring anyway. She sat down with Alec and Magnus, curling into Magnus’ side as another yawn escaped her.  _ Maybe I did overdo it a bit. _

“Magnus, is Alec your mate?” Cat asked when she settled. She looked up at Alec and Magnus, at the shocked expressions they each wore and the look they shared.

“Why do you ask that?” Magnus asked through the pounding of his heart, seeing the matching look of shock that he wore on Alec’s face. He tightened his grip on Alec’s hand, between their bodies when she answered.

“I saw you kiss last night and now you’re sitting close to each other, like that,” Cat said, looking to Alec before gesturing down at their joined hands. “When you and Clary were telling me about mates, you looked sad, it made me think of Alec when you talked of true mates,” she said to Magnus.

“She’s quite perceptive, isn’t she?” Alec asked quietly, sighing when Magnus nodded. He looked down at Cat, snuggled into Magnus’ side, seeing the knowing look on her face before deciding maybe it was easier just to admit the truth. He had a feeling she would work it out anyway.

“Yes, Magnus and I are mates,” Alec said after taking a deep breath. It felt good and terrifying all in the same breath, to admit it out loud to someone else. He pulled a weak smile onto his face when he saw the worry in Magnus’ eyes.

“But you can’t be together?” Cat asked them. Her heart sank when Alec and Magnus both shook their heads. She could see how sad they looked, how they moved closer to each other and gripped each other’s hands tighter. “Why? Magnus said it makes you sad when you can’t be with your mate,” she asked.

“Demons and Angels are not allowed to be together, little one,” Magnus said, hearing the hitch in his voice, himself. He leaned into Alec when his Alpha’s arm came around his shoulder. He looked to his mate when he struggled to find the words to explain it.

Alec let a shaky sigh escape him, tightening his grip on Magnus for a moment before he pulled Cat onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, staring down at her curious expression.

“Do you know what pride is, Cat?” Alec asked, deciding it would be easiest to start from the beginning when she shrugged. “Did you know that demons didn’t always exist? Centuries ago, there were only angels, living in the heavenly realms, and the first mortals, living in this realm,” he began when Cat shook her head.

“There were many special angels, with important jobs. Some of them were very important to The Host, one more so than any of the others. He was The Morningstar, one of the brightest and most beloved of all of the angels. But he was filled with pride. His hubris knew no bounds,” Alec said, shaking his head sadly, Lucifer was the hardest loss of all those that had been banished.

“Lucifer believed that God should love the angels more than the mortals, that we were more important and that the mortals were created to be beneath us, that they were created to serve the heavens. So he was punished. He was cast out by The Host and banished from the heavens,” Alec said.

“When Lucifer fell, he carved out the first realm of hell, making it in the image he had for himself, a place where he could rule, where he could make his own law,” Magnus said when Alec didn’t continue, he could see how much the loss affected his mate.

“But Lucifer wasn’t the only one to fall from grace,” Magnus said sadly, a tight smile ghosting his face as he stared into Alec’s eyes. “Eight other angels felt the same way and chose to face the fall rather than stay in the heavens,” he said, clearing his throat to try and dislodge the lump that formed there.

“Magnus’ father was one of those that fell,” Alec said, tightening his grip on Cat when she gasped, her eyes darting to Magnus.

“Your father was an angel?” Cat asked, staring up at Magnus. A great sadness welled up in her when she saw how sad Magnus was. She reached out to take his hand, her magic reacting instinctively as a soft blue glow coalesced around their joined hands.

“Thank you, Catarina,” Magnus murmured, surprise filling him when a soothing, calming power filled him.  _ Maybe it’s an unconscious thing, something she does naturally without realising it. _ He stored that thought away for further inspection at another time.

“My father was an angel, yes, as was Simon’s father. They fell, along with the other six angels when Lucifer did, believing as The Morningstar did, that mortals were beneath the angels. Each of those eight angels also carved themselves a realm, making up the nine realms of hell,” Magnus said.

“Something you must understand, Cat, is that The Host is a family,” Alec said, thinking of his fellow angels. “Our capacity to love cannot be explained in mortal terms. Those that fell, they were more than our brothers and sisters, they were a part of us. When we cast them out, it was devastating to the entire Host. The loss we still feel to this day is indescribable.”

“When those angels were cast out, the banishment was absolute,” Magnus said sadly, clasping Cat’s hand with both of his. “All ties were cut and The Host was forbidden from having contact with the fallen. This made the fallen angels angry. They had lost their home, their place in existence and their family. Their pride turned to hatred and vengeance,” he said.

“That hatred was not only reserved for the heavens, the fallen also blamed each other. That hatred spawned what we call lesser demons. Physical manifestations of that pride, anger and hatred, infused with the magic that each fallen angel possessed,” Magnus explained, feeling Alec stir next to him. “And so The Horde came to be, fighting each other as often as they united against The Host,” he said.

“Those first nine weren’t the only ones to fall,” Alec said, his gut aching for his fallen brothers and sisters, angels that meant just as much to him as Izzy and Jace did. He had to clear his throat to continue. “Over the centuries, other’s have fallen, being forced to live in the demon realms, to take up arms with or against the demons of the realms. Clary’s father was one of those,” he said.

“Clary’s father, Valentine, believed as Lucifer and the rest of the fallen did. He was punished by being cast out from The Host, and he and his mate came to live in Edom,” Magnus said, looking into Cat’s eyes when she shivered.

“His convictions that the angels were superior landed him in Edom and his banishment drove him insane. He hates The Host and loves them all at in the same breath,” Magnus said, elaborating when Cat peeked back at him.

“All of the fallen feel this way, they still love their brothers and sisters but their hatred for them drives them. And so the war between The Host and The Horde began and has waged since the fall,” Magnus said.

“So that means you can’t be together?” Cat asked, her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked from Magnus to Alec.

“Yes, little one,” Magnus sighed, recognising the expression on Cat’s face. “It wasn’t just the heavens that decreed that there would be no contact between the two opposing entities. Each of the fallen decreed that their people were to stay away from the angels,” he said, the raw emotion he felt clear in his voice.

“But if you are true mates, doesn't that mean that you  _ have _ to be together?” Cat asked, staring at them when they nodded. “Then why doesn’t Alec just come to live with us in Edom?” she asked, frowning when Alec and Magnus exchanged a sad, wistful look.

“It is not that simple, Cat,” Alec sighed, wishing desperately that it could be as simple as just deciding to be together. “The punishment for pride is being banished to the demon realms. The punishment for mating one another is a different thing entirely,” he said, wrapping an arm around Magnus to pull him closer, his gut clenching when Magnus buried his face in his neck.

“The punishment for mating a demon is the descent,” Alec said, resting his cheek on the top of Magnus’ head when Magnus took deep breaths. “I wouldn’t be sent to one of the realms of hell, I would be banished to the mortal realm. My brother and sister, the entire Host would have to cast me out and break all ties with me. I would lose everything and be forced to exist here without them,” he said, the words coming out in a whisper.

“And my punishment would be to ascend,” Magnus said, whispering the words against Alec’s neck, his eyes screwed shut as he thought about what the punishment would mean. “I would also be cast out, banished by my friends and family to live in the mortal realm,” he said, opening his eyes to look down at Cat.

“But then you could be together,” Cat said, her head whipping back and forth between Alec and Magnus, unable to understand the looks of devastation on their faces. “I know you would be sad without your family, I miss my mama badly. But at least you could be together,” she said solemnly.

“But we couldn’t little one,” Magnus said, cupping Cat’s cheek when her little face screwed up in confusion again. “We wouldn’t only be banished, we would be cursed. We wouldn’t know each other, doomed to forget everything we know, every memory, even the tiniest spark of knowledge of the other would be taken from each of us. Not only would we lose our homes and family, but we would also lose each other,” he whispered.

“And so we must stay like this for our eternity,” Alec said, a tight, humourless smile spreading over his face as understanding dawned on Cat. “we can only ever be together like this, in secret, forced to hide, even from our own families lest they suffer too or someone else finds out. We can never mate, can never take each other’s feathers or have a family of our own,” he said.

Alec’s fingers found the soft strands of his mate’s hair.  _ My mate, the mate I can never truly have. _

“Do you see now, little one?” Magnus asked Cat, his voice hitching in his throat. “Do you see why we must ask you to keep our secret?” he asked.

“Yes. Yes, I see,” Cat said sadly, staring up at Magnus and Alec, the two people who had saved her and offered her a safe home where she didn’t have to hide what she was. She didn’t bother to wipe the tears from her eyes, reaching up instead, to wipe the tears from their stricken faces before snuggling into them further, wondering what would become of them. She may not understand mating properly but it was clear, even to her that the two were meant to be together.


	8. A Dangerous Kind of Beauty

 

Alec’s eyes snapped open, his heart pounding as he raised his head, his hands automatically moving to reach for the swords he willed into existence at his hips when he heard the low snarls and growls that had woken him. He tried to reach for them... before he realised his left arm had gone dead and he couldn’t move it. Nor could he move his legs.

Alec looked to his left, the last vestiges of sleep leaving him when his mind registered the face he saw there. It did nothing to allay the sinking, heart-stopping feeling that had risen up in him from the sounds, only deepening his worry.

The need to protect Magnus pushed through the confused fogginess in Alec's brain and pushed all of his instincts to heighten. He looked down at his legs, finally seeing why he couldn't move them.

A small chuckle of relief burst from Alec when he saw where the sounds were coming from. Cat, sprawled across his legs, his legs which were tangled up with Magnus’.

Alec watched Cat for a moment, fighting down the loud laugh that wanted to burst from him at the way she was lying, her hair, arms, and legs sticking out in all directions, draped across him and Magnus with her mouth hanging wide open.

_ Those are some snores. She sounds like a horde of Eidolon demons on the hunt for its prey. Who'd have thought those sounds could come from such a small, innocent looking girl? _

Alec chuckled quietly at his own thoughts, wiping the drool from Cat's chin before turning back to Magnus. He grinned when he came face to face Magnus, only a few inches apart, and saw that his mate was awake.

“Good morning, Alexander,” Magnus murmured, staring straight into Alec's eyes. A corresponding grin tugged the corners of his own mouth up when he saw the beatific smile on his Alpha's face and the sparkling gleam of mirth in his eyes.

“Good morning,” Alec whispered, blinking at the beautiful sight of Magnus, his hair also sticking out in every direction, lying with his head resting on his dead arm in the dim, early morning light of the sunrise.

“Sunrise! Shit, it's the morning,” Alec whispered, realising that they must have fallen asleep during the night. He wasn't opposed to the way Magnus was snuggled into his side, or that he had woken up with Magnus at all, it was nice, it felt right.

The thought that they had been there all night was what worried him.

“Is that a bad thing?” Magnus asked quietly, trying to stretch the muscles of his legs without waking Cat, the ground they had slept on had done nothing good for him. He squashed the little pang of sadness down that had flashed through him at the worried look on Alec’s face.

“It would never be a bad thing, waking up next to you. It's nothing,” Alec said, pulling a tight smile on his face for his mate. He sighed when he realised Magnus was having none of it by the way he raised an eyebrow. “Sometime’s Izzy and Jace like to train at sunrise. They’ll start asking questions if they call for me and I’m not there.”

“Do you have to go?” Magnus asked, trying not to let the disappointment show on his face but unable to repress the deep sigh that escaped him.  _ We knew it would be like this. _

“I have a little bit of time,” Alec said when he saw his own disappointment stamped all over Magnus’ face.  _ I’ll make time! For him.  _ “Let’s just enjoy this, okay?” he asked, smiling when Magnus nodded. His smile widened when Magnus leaned in and kissed him.

_ These lips are going to finish me off!  _ Floated through Magnus’ mind as their lips moved against each other’s. He marvelled at the soft bursts of breath that brushed his face as he kissed Alec, and at the way his heart pounded, banishing every other thought than those of Alec.

“I could definitely get used to this,” Alec murmured against Magnus’ lips as the blood pounded through his veins.  _ Maybe waking up to Cat’s snarls isn’t the best way to start the day but I’m certainly not complaining about the kissing!  _ He pouted his lips out again when he opened his eyes to see the way Magnus lay with his eyes still closed, his pretty lips still pouted out.

_ Who am I to deny that face?  _ Alec asked himself as he trailed his lips over the seam of Magnus’, wishing there wasn’t a sleeping child sprawled all over them so that he could deepen it.  _ A sleeping child. What happened to those growls? _

Magnus realised Cat was awake at the same time as Alec, pulling back to look down at Cat and see her grinning up at them. “Good morning, Catarina,” he chuckled when he saw the look on her face, it could only be deemed as dreamy.

“Good morning,” Cat said, grinning at the smile on Magnus’ face and the blush on Alec’s.  _ They were kissing again!  _ She couldn’t help the giggle that burst from her when Alec smiled, a shifty look on his face. “I’m hungry. Can we have some breakfast?” she asked hopefully when her stomach started growling.

“You’re always hungry,” Magnus chuckled, stretching out when Cat sat up and climbed off his and Alec’s legs. “Those roars are almost as loud as your snores,” he said as he sat up, hearing just how hungry Cat was.

“I thought I was going to have to fend off an army of demons when I woke up,” Alec said, laughing when he saw the affronted look Cat was affecting. He stood up, pulling Magnus up with him before having a proper stretch. “I’m way too old to be sleeping on the ground,” he said as he unfurled his wings.

“Me too, next time I’ll conjure us a mattress,” Magnus said without thinking, almost glaring at the way cat bounded up off the ground without a care in the world. He ignored the niggle of sadness when Alec’s head snapped up to look at him, knowing there wouldn’t be a “next time”.

“Well I had a lovely sleep, old men,” Cat grinned, oblivious to the look Alec and Magnus were sharing. She rolled her eyes when they pulled each other into a hug, looking around the outcropping, hoping something to eat would appear.

“Sorry, I didn’t think…” Magnus murmured, sighing into Alec’s embrace. He tightened his arms around Alec’s waist when his huge white wings wrapped around them both.

“We’ll find a way,” Alec said, pressing his lips to Magnus’ neck. He took a deep breath, inhaling Magnus’ scent. It worked its way through him, soothing the ache that had arisen at Magnus’ words. “We’re here now, we still have this,” he said.

“I know, it's fine. We’ll just be more careful next time,” Magnus said. He pulled back and pressed his lips to the cute dimple in Alec’s nose, smiling when Alec did. His eyes almost rolled out of his head when he felt a tugging on his pants.

“Come on! I’m starving,” Cat said, looking up at them when Alec and Magnus both pulled back to look down at her.

“I think the first thing I’m going to teach you is how to conjure food,” Magnus said, smiling when Cat’s face lit up.  _ Of course, she’s excited at the prospect of instantaneous food.  _ The thought had him shaking his head.

“Let me,” Alec said when Magnus raised his hands, presumably to conjure them something to eat. His Alpha instincts were having none of it, he wanted to provide for them both. “I’ll be back soon. Cat, try not to waste away while I’m gone,” he chuckled when Cat slumped down onto the ground with an exasperated huff.

Alec pulled Magnus in, gripping his omega’s chin to smack their lips together before he pulled back with a satisfied smirk and bent his knees. He launched himself into the air, catching himself with his wings when he was twenty feet up and soared out over the valley in search of something to eat.

Alec dipped low, dropping fast to fly closer to the valley floor. He soared over the lake, searching the trees and bushes that surrounded the large body of water. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for, banking right to land on the rocky shore of the lake.

Making his way over to the trees, Alec grinned when he saw the big green apples hanging there. He started pulling the firm fruits from the trees, biting into one of them to test it. It was delicious and perfectly ripe so he pulled several more from the tree before looking around again.

He shoved a few of the apples into his pocket, pleased with his haul, as he spotted a clump of bushes, bulging with berries.  _ Might as well make a proper meal of it _ . He shrugged as he made his way over.

The black berries looked juicy enough so Alec stripped a branch of them from the bush, smiling as he inhaled the pleasant scent of the small purple flowers that accompanied the berries.  _ These will make a nice gift for Magnus. _

Alec plucked a handful of the black berries from the branch, smiling when he tasted how sweet they were, deciding they would go perfectly with the apples. He stripped another handful of the branches from the bush and set his eyes on the outcropping as he rose into the air, to see Magnus and Cat waiting for him.

The outcropping his mate was waiting on, blurring before his eyes, had Alec’s wings faltering. He shook his head, rising higher as he tried to focus on Magnus. The sudden dryness in his throat did nothing to help him concentrate. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to produce some moisture and frowned when none was forthcoming as he flew.

Magnus watched Alec approach, frowning when he saw his mate falter. His heart started beating faster when Alec’s wings started flapping erratically a split second before Alec dropped whatever he had in his hands.

“What’s he doing?” Cat asked, watching Alec as closely as Magnus was. She stared in alarm when Alec almost dropped out of the air. “Why is he flying…?”

“Alexander!” Magnus yelled, bounding forward and launching himself over the edge of the cliff when Alec fell from the air, still thirty feet up above the lake. He stopped thinking, plummeting through the air on pure instinct. All he could think of was getting to his Alpha.

Cat jumped a few seconds after Magnus did, trying to remember everything Alec and Magnus had taught her the night before through her panic. She followed Magnus, finding the thermals to get closer to the ground, not as confident as he was to fly in a straight line.

“Alexander!” Magnus yelled again, retracting his wings to dive into the lake where Alec had disappeared, knowing they would only hinder his movements. He fell the last six feet and plunged into the freezing water, almost forgetting to take a breath in his haste to reach Alec before he broke the surface.

Alec was sinking fast, unable to find the right direction under the freezing water or control his arms or legs enough to make it to the surface. His vision was already blurred but the cloudy lake water was making it worse. His arms and legs started jerking in the water as he fought the instinct to take a breath.

Magnus dove deep, panic trying to steal his wits as he blinked in the murky depths of the water, looking around for his mate. His eyes zeroed in on Alec, thrashing around in the water, twenty feet to his left.

Magnus propelled himself forward, as fast as he could, desperate to reach his Alpha. The cold water and the need to breathe barely registering as he swam, all he could think of was reaching Alec.

The base instinct to fight kicked in for a moment when strong arms wrapped around Alec’s torso before his screaming brain stopped urging him to fight it. His limbs flailed as he was pulled in what his disconnecting brain was hoping was the direction of the surface.

Cat had tears rolling down her face by the time Alec and Magnus surfaced, crying out when she saw them both inhale deep lungfuls of air. She batted her wings furiously to propel her in the right direction, watching as Magnus started dragging Alec towards the shore of the lake and following in their wake.

Cat almost didn’t notice the branches of flowers, floating on the surface of the lake as she flew low over it. She dropped a little further, snatching one up when she remembered Alec dropping something before he fell. She inspected the purple flowers, her heart plummeting when she saw them… and the small sprouts that she was pretty sure had contained berries.

Magnus clawed his way towards the shore, looking up when he saw a small hand reach down and take hold of Alec’s tunic at the collar. One part of his panicking brain registered that Cat was trying to help him while the majority of it was focused on the way Alec was jerking in his arm as he swam as hard as he could.

Cat helped Magnus pull Alec from the lake, fighting down her panic as best as she could when she landed in the ankle deep water to help Magnus drag him onto the pebbled shore. She dropped the branch as she fell to her knees and wrenched Alec’s mouth open, even as he tried to bite down on her fingers, tears streaming down her face when she saw the black stains on his teeth.

“Alexander… Alexander, stop!” Magnus yelled, trying to hold Alec’s convulsing body down. It was hard work, his Alpha was strong. “What are you doing?” he asked Cat when he saw her inspecting Alec’s mouth, his own tears mingling with the lake water streaming from his hair.

“Magnus, the berries… he’s eaten them!” Cat cried, her head whipping around to look at the bushes that surrounded them.  _ I don’t know which of them will help him!  _ Her brain screamed, panic once again taking over her.

“What do you mean? What berries?” Magnus asked, staring down at his gasping mate, watching Alec’s eyes roll around in his head. He took the small branch Cat shoved into his hand, looking down at it before Alec flung both of them off of him, the pair of them sailing through the air from his incredible strength.

“Magnus… it’s Belladonna,” Cat screamed, ignoring the ache in her arm as she slammed into the ground, ten feet away from Alec. She lurched to her feet, running towards the angel once more at the same time as Magnus.

Alec couldn’t understand why his body wouldn’t obey him when the demons came for him once more. He tried to get to his feet, snarling when they jumped on him again. He tried to raise his jerking arm, to fight them off but it wouldn’t work properly, jerking spasmodically at his side.

If Alec had thought the little blue demon’s teeth and claws were huge, they were nothing compared to the big one. A tiny part of his fogged up brain registered the glowing golden eyes of the big one but he was more concerned with the huge fangs it snapped at him. He fought for breath as he tried to fight them but none of his body parts would work with the correct response.

“What is happening to him?” Magnus asked of no one, in particular, trying to pin Alec to the ground again. His heart broke when he heard the growl rip from his Alpha, his stomach lurching at the murderous look in Alec’s eyes. “What is Belladonna?” he asked, remembering what Cat had said.

“Its a plant, a poisonous one,” Cat muttered, sitting on Alec’s flailing arm, trying desperately to think of what her mama had taught her. “He’s too strong,” she cried when she was almost launched off of the angel again. A small sigh of relief escaped her when Magnus snapped his fingers and Alec stilled beneath her, still convulsing uncontrollably but not flailing as much.

“See the rash? He doesn’t have much time. The plant is called Belladonna or Nightshade,” she cried as she inspected Alec’s wide pupils before laying her hands on Alec’s neck to inspect the red rash that had sprung up there. Some instinct that she didn’t know she possessed kicked in as blue magic surrounded her hands.

Cat barely had a moment to think when her magic seeped into Alec’s jolting body. She shook her surprise off, at what felt like sinking into his body, as her mind was flooded with images. She didn’t know what it was, maybe an awareness that she had always possessed but she shuddered when she felt the poison like it was inside her own body.

Cat traced the poison through the body that surrounded her mind, watching with her eyes closed as long, spidery tubes, filled with the poison, stretched out before her. She didn’t have a clue what she was doing, her magic just reacted, flooding the tiny, stringy tubes and burning the poison away.

Magnus stared at Cat, watching her every movement in astonishment. He lay his hands on Alec’s neck, next to Cat’s hands and sent his awareness down into Alec’s body. He watched Cat’s magic sear through Alec’s veins with his mind’s eye, burning the dark, pulsing poison straight out of him.

Alec roared, trying to fight the demon magic that encased him, pushing him down. It felt like his veins were on fire, screaming as magic swept through him. He had imagined a thousand deaths over his lifetime, but none of them had included being pinned down and burned from the inside out by demons with dripping, poisonous fangs and claws.

The image of a woman with black hair and brown eyes, and a man with blonde hair and mismatched blue and brown eyes flashed before Alec’s eyes, along with the faces of other’s, other’s that he was sure were important, flashing faster and faster in front of him. He couldn’t remember why they were important.

Another face flashed in front of him, overlaying the image of the snarling demon that was holding him down.

_ It’s a beautiful face!  _ One half of his foggy brain tried to tell him while the other half was screaming at him to fight the demons, telling him not to fall for their tricks. He gave up the fight when darkness started to cloud his already blurred vision, creeping from the corners of his eyes to cover them like a blanket.

Cat collapsed when the last of the poison burned away before her eyes, falling over Alec’s prone, still chest. She turned her head groggily, pressing her ear to his chest, tears flooding her face when she heard the erratic heartbeat start to steady beneath her ear.

“Magnus, you have to get the berries out of his stomach,” Cat mumbled when she found the strength to sit up and look at Magnus, her stomach twisting at the expression on Magnus’ face.

Magnus pulled his awareness from Alec’s body after tracing every vein for any remnants of the poison and finding none. His eyes snapped open to see Cat shuffling back, watching him. He fought down every feeling inside of himself to turn Alec’s body over, noting the peaceful look on his Alpha’s face.

Magnus pushed his magic into Alec’s body once more, pushing it into Alec’s stomach and forcing it to contract. He forced all remnants of everything his mate’s stomach contained, from Alec’s mouth, only stopping when it was empty.

Cat watched as Magnus turned Alec back over and used his tunic to wipe Alec’s mouth, tears streaming down her face. She wiped her arm over her face, trying to brush the tears away when Magnus placed Alec’s head in his lap before he looked up at her.

“Come here, little one,” Magnus said gently when he saw the tears on Cat’s face, beckoning for her to come closer.

“Is he dead? Did I kill him?” Cat asked, not daring to move a muscle when Alec was lying so still. She could see the rise and fall of his chest but didn’t trust her eyes.  _ I didn’t mean to! I didn’t do it on purpose. _

“He isn’t… dead, he’s just sleeping,” Magnus said, his voice breaking as raw emotion swept through him. He bit back a sob to beckon for Cat to come closer. He opened his arm out to her when she crept forward, wrapping her in a tight embrace.

“You didn’t kill him, you saved him, Catarina,” Magnus whispered into her hair, holding her shaking body to him when she went limp. “Thank you, you wonderful, beautiful child. Thank you for saving my mate,” he whispered as the damn broke loose, rocking her tiny body as he cried into her shoulder.

The enormity of what had almost happened swept through Magnus, his mind fixating on the words Cat had uttered. The words “poisonous plant” floating through his mind over and over again.

“How did you do that?” Magnus asked around the lump in his throat, wiping his face before stroking his fingers through the damp strands of Alec’s hair. “Catarina, how did you do that?” he asked when Cat didn’t answer.

“I know the basics of healing. I can set a broken bone or patch up a torn wing. But that, you burned the poison right out of him,” Magnus said, looking down into Cat’s eyes when she pulled back to look up at him.

“I don’t know, I just put my hands on him and my magic took over,” Cat said, staring down at her hands. “I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happened. It just came out of me. It was like I was inside his body. I could see it all, all of the little tubes with poison in them. And then… it just… I just…”

“Those are called veins,” Magnus said incredulously.  _ She doesn't even know what veins are and she still managed to heal him!  _ “You did so well. You were incredible, Catarina,” he said, clutching her to him once more. “I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you,” he whispered.

“I didn’t really do any…” Cat was cut off by a choking noise. She looked down to see Alec blinking up at them, his soggy head still resting on Magnus’ knee. She pulled back to look at him, smiling when he tried to sit up.

“Just rest a moment, Alexander,” Magnus murmured, gently pushing down on Alec’s shoulders to stop him from getting up.

“What happened? Why are we wet? And why am I lying on the ground?” Alec asked, clearing his throat at the dry hoarseness there as he blinked up at his mate and Cat, both of them leaning over him with worried expressions on their faces.

“You ate the berries!” Cat said, unable to understand why her voice came out angry before a fresh wave of tears rolled down her face. “You shouldn’t eat berries when you don’t know what they are! Not all things that grow on trees and bushes in this realm are safe to eat!” she shouted.

“Cat…” Alec murmured, staring up at Magnus when Cat threw herself across his chest. His arms came up automatically, holding Cat to his soaking chest as she sobbed into his neck. “I’m okay… it’s okay, little one,” he said, picking up on Magnus’ nickname for the child.

“Please, don’t ever do that to me again,” Magnus muttered when Alec sat up with a wince. He pulled them into a hug, uncaring of the way he was squeezing the life out of the pair of them as his lips found Alec’s forehead.

Alec held Cat until her sobs died down, gently stroking his fingers through her hair until she stopped shaking and sat back to peer up at him.

“I’m sorry, Cat, I didn’t know,” Alec said as images of sharp teeth and claws flashed before his eyes. “Are you both okay?” he asked when he remembered that he had tried to attack them, his eyes inspecting every inch of them that he could see as guilt washed through him.

“I am, Catarina?” Magnus asked, taking Cat from Alec’s arms when Cat showed them her arm. He quickly healed the large graze on her arm before Alec could get a good look at it. “What was that plant?” he asked her.

“It was Belladonna. It’s a poisonous plant, you should never eat the berries,” Cat said, staring at her arm, at the unblemished skin there before she glanced up at Magnus and Alec. “my mother made medicines from plants and traded them for rooms in inns when we used to move around,” she said.

“When we got to the last village, there was a big illness, my mother called it influenza. Everyone in the village had it and a lot of people died from it but she saved a lot more people from it. They gave us a house to live in and we stayed there so my mama could help them. She told me about a lot of plants and herbs, how they can be used to help people,” Cat explained.

“So what I ate, that was a bad one?” Alec asked, shaking his head at his stupidity but also thanking The Host that he had eaten it before he had given any to Magnus and Cat. His blood ran cold at the thought of what could have happened if they had eaten it instead of him.

“Yes, a very bad one. My mama said I’m never to eat berries if I don’t know what they are. The side effects of Nightshade poisoning are a rash, big pupils, a dry mouth, hallucinations, convulsions and, if not treated, you fall into a deep sleep and you don’t wake up,” Cat said.

“Stop that, it wasn’t your fault. You’re okay now,” Magnus said when he saw Alec’s internal conflict. He took Alec’s face in his hands, staring into his Alpha’s eyes. “It was a mistake, an accident. We are all fine,” he said, his eyes darting between each of Alec’s before his wings shot out and he wrapped them around the three of them.

Alec sank into Magnus’ embrace, inhaling the scent that engulfed him as he wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist. He buried his face in Magnus’ neck, pushing his guilt down when he felt his mate’s wings flutter against his back.

“Thank you, for saving me,” Alec murmured into Magnus’ neck, tightening his arms around Magnus’ waist when he made to pull back, not nearly done with hugging him.

“It wasn’t me, it was Catarina. She saved you,” Magnus said, smiling when Alec was the one to pull back, his eyes wide as he stared down at Cat, who was wedged between them.

“Thank you, Cat,” Alec said, staring down at her. “How did you save me?” he asked, his confusion evident in his tone.

“She doesn’t know. I’m going to ask Elaine and Rebecca, Simon’s mother and sister, to spend some time with her. They are both quite gifted when it comes to healing, especially Rebecca,” Magnus said when Cat just shrugged. “She seems to have some sort of natural affinity for healing, I think.”

“Well thank you, Cat. I don’t know if I can ever repay you,” Alec said, pressing his lips to Cat’s forehead and sending his soothing power into her body. Izzy’s would have been better but he gave her what comfort he could.

“You can repay me by never eating berries again,” Cat said, trying not to blush and failing miserably. “And by getting me something to eat, I’m still hungry,” she said.

“Maybe it’s safer for all of us if I’m in charge of the food,” Magnus said as he snapped his fingers, pushing a large plate of fruit into Cat’s hands, ensuring there were no berries on it before he conjured a cupful of water for his mate.

Alec drank the water down gratefully when he realised how dry his throat still was before he accepted his own plateful of fruit. He ate slowly, sharing the odd look with Magnus as he thought about how close he had been to hurting them.  _ I did hurt Cat. I would have killed them if Magnus hadn’t held me down. _

Alec pulled Magnus closer, needing to feel his mate next to him, dreading the moment duty would pull him away from Magnus. Even if they had agreed to their secret relationship, they still had to part ways at the end of each night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I feel like a right arsehole now. But hey, Cat's a healer! Who saw that coming? lol


	9. Can Healing Hands Mend Broken Hearts?

 

It was past midday by the time Alec strode into the training arena, the events of that morning still fresh in his mind. He was so lost in thought, he almost missed the whip aimed at his neck.

“Almost, Iz,” Alec called as he raised his arm to block the whip and the electrum wrapped around it. He untangled the whip and dropped his things on one of the benches before making his way over to her.

“Is Jace with you?” Izzy asked, looking around for her other brother and turning back to note the surprised expression on Alec's face when she couldn't find Jace.

“No, should he be?” Alec asked, his eyebrows raised in confusion as he willed his Adamas blades into existence and squared off against her, smiling when Izzy grinned.

“I called on you both this morning and couldn’t find either of you,” Izzy said, willing her own blades into her hands. “I thought that maybe the two of you were together,” she said.

“Maybe he was on patrol last night,” Alec suggested as he started to circle Izzy. He kept his blades raised, his right a little higher than his left to block his face as he looked for an early opening.

“Nope, I already checked,” Izzy muttered, focussed more on the placement of Alec’s feet than the actual conversation. Until what he had said registered. “Wait, if you weren’t with him last night, where were you?” she asked.

Alec raised his eyebrow at Izzy, the confusion he felt breaking through his expression.  _ Why is she asking that? Fuck, has she been following me? _

“What do you mean?” Alec asked, trying to stall for time to come up with an answer that would satisfy her.  _ Don’t shut down on me now, think!  _ He couldn’t think, he couldn’t pull one decent idea out of his ass.

“I knocked last night, you weren’t there then either,” Izzy said, lunging forward with an overhead strike that would have taken a slower man’s head off. “Neither of you was in,” she said, spinning away when Alec easily blocked her.

Alec followed Izzy’s step, chancing a rib strike before she had finished turning, of course, she was far too skilled for that, blocking him easily as she continued the turn.

“Well? Where were you?” Izzy asked, ducking low as she continued her spin and aimed to swipe Alec’s legs from beneath him.

“I… I was… on a date!” Alec said as he jumped over the leg Izzy swept out.  _ Fuck, no...NO. why did I say that?  _ He took advantage of Izzy’s surprise to try and distract her by lunging low with his right blade extended.

Izzy rolled backwards, as far from Alec’s reach as she could before flipping her body up into a back handspring. She stared at Alec when she landed lightly on her feet.

“YOU WENT ON A DATE AND DIDN’T TELL ME? WHO CHOSE YOUR CLOTHES?” Izzy bellowed, forgetting to moderate her voice in her excitement. She didn’t even try to hide the grin that almost split her face in half.

“For fuck’s sake!” Alec mumbled under his breath. Stepping back, he started to circle his sister again, giving up ground when she lept back into the fray immediately. He backed up, clamping his lips together when he saw the gleam in her eye.  _ Shit! _

“So come on, who is he?” Izzy asked, unfurling her wings when Alec did.  _ He’s not getting away that easily!  _ She launched herself into the air, hot on Alec’s wings.

Alec spun in the air, blocking the swing of Izzy’s sword when she came after him. He raised his sword, almost wincing at the almighty crash as their blades met. He brought his second blade up, aiming for Izzy’s vulnerable shoulder.

“Alec! Who is he?” Izzy asked, rotating her arm while she turned to avoid his blade at the last second, grinning when she poked her second blade into Alec’s exposed ribs.  _ Too easy! _

“It was no one, it didn’t work out,” Alec said, forcing his flailing brain to spit out an answer that would satisfy his sister.  _ Yeah, as if it would be that easy.  _ He chastised himself as he backed away, breathing hard. They both were.

“What happened?” Izzy asked in what she thought was her most sympathetic voice. The frown that swept over Alec’s face told her otherwise.

“Why does that sound like an accusation?” Alec asked, beating his wings periodically to keep himself airborne as he circled Izzy once more.

“It wasn’t an accusation!” Izzy said, completely ignoring the fact that that was exactly what it had been.  _ What did he do now? He is a catch but he always finds something wrong and fixates on it.  _ “What happened?” she asked, fixing her tone.

“Nothing happened, we… we weren’t compatible,” Alec’s brain supplied.  _ There, that should keep her from frothing at the mouth for details! _

“You weren’t compatible? What does that even mean?” Izzy asked, shooting forward when she saw that Alec had let his guard down. She aimed for Alec’s stomach before yanking her arm back when Alec crossed his blades on hers. He had broken enough of her swords with the manoeuvre for her to know better.

“It means we weren’t compatible,” Alec said with a shrug. He launched himself forward with a series of double-handed strikes designed to knock Izzy off balance, grinning when he had her on the defensive.

Izzy just about managed to block every blow, parrying each of Alec’s thrusts and swings with her blades. She scowled when he continued the attack, hating to give up ground but knowing she was fighting a losing battle.

Alec used his larger wingspan and faster movements to his advantage, quickening his blows until Izzy rose above him. He laughed at her attempt to gain the advantage over his position, flying in circles around her.

“What you mean… is that… you found something you didn’t like… and fixated on it until you… fucked it up?” Izzy asked breathlessly, following Alec’s movements as they rose higher, desperately looking for an opening.

Izzy grinned when she saw Jace flying towards them behind Alec’s back, realising Alec hadn’t noticed he was there.  _ This is too easy! He might be able to take me but not the both of us! _

Alec was just about to answer Izzy when he saw the grin on her face. He spun in the air to find Jace closing on him fast. He raised his left blade, blocking Jace’s incoming longsword, a split second before he brought his right blade up to block Izzy.

“You’ll have to be faster than that, both of you,” Alec said with a grin, rotating both arms until his swords were on top of both of theirs, on either side of him. He lifted his blades and beat his wings hard, rising above both of them until he was fifty feet above them, one hundred feet of the ground.

“Get him!” Jace shouted, laughing when he saw the sparkle in Izzy’s eyes. He raised his sword as he gave his wings one almighty beat, at the same time as Izzy, to go after his brother. He soon backed away at the suicidal manoeuvre Alec pulled.

Alec pulled his wings in tight and plummeted into a head-first death spiral with both of his swords extended, grinning as the arena spun around him in a blurred whirl.  _ I’ll call this move The Magnus.  _ The thought had a laugh bursting from him as he spread his wings at the last minute to catch himself.

“What the fuck was that?” Izzy muttered, staring wide-eyed at Jace when Alec pulled out of his spiral and soared off with a beat of his wings.

“I don’t know but I want to try it!” Jace said, watching Alec soar around the perimeter of the arena. “Does he seem… happier to you?” he asked Izzy when she flew closer to him.

“I wouldn’t say happier. He seems more... settled. No, that’s not right. Not as lost, like he has a purpose,” Izzy responded, watching every one of Alec’s movements.  _ Even that doesn’t feel right. _

“I don’t know. He’s changed,” Izzy said, trying to pinpoint when it had happened.  _ After the mission to the mortal realm.  _ Her brain supplied. It wasn’t exactly happiness, it just wasn’t complete misery. “So where were you last night, and this morning?” she asked.

“On a date,” Jace said with a nonchalant shrug, rolling his eyes at the way Izzy raised her eyebrows at him.  _ She look’s far too sceptical.  _ “I do go on dates... I was with... Kayleigh,” he said with another shrug.

“Ugh, you’re seeing her again?” Izzy asked, her lip curling in disdain. She didn’t like the angel, it was as simple as that. “You can do much better than her,” she said.

“Do better than who?” Alec asked when he joined his brother and sister, curious at the grimace on Izzy’s face and the scowl Jace wore.

“Kayleigh,” Izzy said, the word coming out like an expletive. She nodded when Alec pulled a matching grimace onto his face. “Why don’t you look for something a little more… permanent?” she asked.

“This again? It’s just a bit of fun, it’s something to pass the time,” Jace said, avoiding his sibling's gazes.  _ Why does she insist on poking her nose in? _

“Is that how she sees it?” Izzy asked, following when Jace flapped his golden-white wings at her before descending, looking for all the world like he was trying to find somewhere to hide. She grabbed Alec’s wrist on her way past, pulling him after her.

“Iz… just leave it, he’ll find a mate when he’s ready,” Alec muttered when he saw the determined look on his sister’s face. It didn’t bode well for Jace’s love life. Which meant it didn’t bode well for his either.

“He’s going to end up lonely,” Izzy insisted as she landed and pulled her wings closer to her body to take a seat next to Jace.

“Whatever happened to the Isabelle that concentrated on her own love life and left us to ours?” Jace asked. He picked up his canteen and took a deep swig before offering the water to them. “Why doesn’t she make an appearance? She was fun, happy to play the field and let us do the same!”

“She got sick and tired of not seeing her brothers settled about three centuries ago, I just want you both to be happy,” Izzy said, rolling her eyes at her stubborn brothers. She was determined to see them settled with mates and families of there own, just as much as she wanted the same for herself.

“What make’s you think finding mates would make us any happier?” Alec asked, slumping down onto the bench below Izzy and Jace.  _ I would be ecstatic if I was actually allowed to have my mate!  _ He was grateful for what he could get but he would be lying if he said he didn't want it all with Magnus. His mind once again started to wander, wondering what their life together would be like.

_ Happy, filled with laughter if I have the measure of Magnus. Maybe sometimes it would be hard, we would probably argue over little things but we would work it out, we’d compromise. No doubt there would be love and centuries of happy memories. And a family, a child of our own to teach to fly and discover if they have amazing healing skills like Cat. Or a lot of children! _

_ Of course, that will never happen now, we can’t have any of that. We get to have the watered down version, because of circumstances, because of a ridiculous fluke of fate that neither of us asked for. _

“Of course you would be happy. You could have that person meant just for you, someone to spend your eternity with, getting to wake up every day with the person who loves you most in the world. Someone to share all those little moments with, and the big ones. Someone to raise children with and watch them grow to find their own happiness. Who wouldn’t want that?” Izzy asked, failing to notice the way Jace avoided her eyes. Or the downright misery and anger on Alec’s face.

“Yeah, well, we don’t always get what we want, do we?” Alec asked, jumping to his feet as his stomach dropped through the floor. “You think its all happy times, that there are no problems because you’ve found your person?” he snapped, too caught up in his own problem’s to pay any mind to the shock on Izzy’s face.

“Not everyone gets their happily ever after, Iz,” Alec growled, turning on his heel and storming from the arena before she could tell him all about how happy he would be when he found his mate.

**

“Magnus, Cat, is everything okay?” Simon asked when he answered the knock on his front door to find them on his doorstep, both of them looking a little worse for wear. He stood aside to let them in, staring at their wet clothes and red-rimmed eyes.

“Yes, we’re fine, is Rebecca in?” Magnus asked as he towed Cat through the front door and into the living room. He silently chastised himself for not going home and straightening up first but he wanted Becky to assess Cat’s abilities right away.

“Uh, yeah? Sorry, why do you want to see her?” Simon asked, scratching the back of his head in his confusion. Magnus and Becky got on well enough but they weren’t exactly best friends.  _ That’s my department! _

“I was hoping she would be willing to spend some time with Catarina. I think she has a latent talent for healing and Rebecca is the most gifted healer I know. Do you think she will have a look?” Magnus asked, smiling down at Cat when she gripped his hand tighter, looking curiously around the spacious living room.

“Sure, she would be more than happy to help. I’ll fetch her. Help yourselves to anything. Something to eat or drink, maybe a cloth,” Simon chuckled before making his way down the hallway to find his sister.

Magnus snapped his fingers, drying them out properly and fixing his hair and makeup. He gave Cat a wink as she stared down at herself then up at him.

“Can you just do anything with magic?” Cat asked, her eyes roving over Magnus’ fresh appearance and her own warm, dry, clean clothes.

“Pretty much. There are exceptions. You can’t bring someone back to life unless you practice Necromancy, which you will  _ not  _ be. You can’t make people fall in love with you, at least, not in a permanent way. Although, you can make them fall out of love with you,” Magnus said with a rueful grin as he led Cat over to the sofa and took a seat.

“How do you make the food?” Cat asked as she sat next to Magnus, thinking about the fresh flat cakes Magnus had made them after their breakfast of fruit.  _ They were delicious! I wonder if I can make them? That would have been handy before, I could have helped mama more. _

While Cat’s mother had provided for them as best as she could with her cures, they had never been wealthy or had things like food and accommodations always readily available.  _ It would have been nice to give mama fresh cakes every day! _

“You don’t make the food, you conjure it, you summon it from another place and will it to appear in front of you,” Magnus chuckled. He held out his hand and summoned some fresh bread and cheese.

“But where does it come from? If you summon it, it must come from somewhere?” Cat asked, grinning when she saw the food in Magnus’ hand. _I’ll be_ _more than happy to help it disappear._ The thought had her giggling as she took the food.

“Does it matter? It was there and now it’s in your hand. Or your stomach,” Magnus said, poking Cat in the stomach as she ripped off a chunk of bread and chewed furiously.

“But… isn’t that stealing?” Cat asked around a huge mouthful of bread. “Mama said it’s bad to steal, that you have to barter or pay for things if you have coins.”

_ We never had coins! _

“I call it misappropriation. It’s only stealing if you get caught,” Magnus chuckled, winking at Cat when she rolled her eyes. “Do you want to try it?” he asked, looking up with a smile when Simon came back into the room followed by his sister.

“Sure. what do I do?” Cat asked. She might think of it as stealing but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try it for herself. If she could conjure food on demand, she would never be hungry again. She smiled at the girl who came in with Simon, shuffling a bit closer to Magnus when she sat down. She looked like Simon with the same brown hair and black eyes, and wide, slightly confused smile.

Simon took a seat in his wing-backed chair to watch Magnus and Cat, happy that they had found each other. He had always known Magnus was a kind, generous soul but the rapport he had struck up with the child was enchanting.

“Hello Rebecca, this is Catarina, she is staying with me,” Magnus said introducing the two as Becky took a seat next to Cat with a smile to watch before returning to Cat’s question. “Do you know how to access your magic, little one? How to find it in your core?” he asked.

“Sure, the Warlock taught me when he showed me how to do glamours,” Cat said, looking within herself to find the spark of white magic that was always there when she needed a glamour.

“Okay, think about butter,” Magnus said to Cat, grinning when she closed her eyes. “Think about how it tastes, how bread tastes with fresh butter on it. Think about what it smells like and the colour of it and what it feels like when it melts on your tongue,” he said.

Cat nodded, thinking about the few times her mama had bartered her cures for butter and cheese. She remembered how delicious it was with a grin. She pictured it in her head, imagined what it would taste like.

“Now, imagine a shelf. There’s a bowl of butter on the shelf, butter you want so you can spread it on your bread,” Magnus said. He couldn’t help but smile at the concentration on Cat’s serious looking face.

“Imagine that bowl of butter landing in your hand. Focus with all of your will, command the butter to land in your hand. Some people like to physically gesture, with a wave of their hand, almost as if they are picking it up,” Magnus said, watching Cat screw her face up. “Command it, little one, be firm,” he said.

“Butter, land in my hand!” Cat yelled, holding her hand out expectantly. She scowled when there was no butter landing in her hand and the room filled with laughter. “It didn’t work!” she said.

“You don’t have to say it out loud, just think it,” Magnus tried his best to stifle the laugh that burst from him at the accusatory tone of voice Cat used and the glare on her adorable face as she gave them all the evil eye.

“Remember the gesture, Cat,” Becky said with a grin. She easily conjured a bowl of butter with a wave of her hand and showed it to the delightful little girl. “Look, you can see the butter, right in front of your face. Try again, focus on the bowl, imagine it disappearing from my hand and landing in yours,” she said, holding the bowl out.

Cat stared at the bowl, remembering the gesture Simon’s sister had used. She concentrated, staring at the bowl and waved her hand, imagining it appearing in her own hand. It didn’t work, again, causing a growl of frustration to bubble up her throat.

“It doesn’t work!” Cat snapped.  _ I want that bowl of butter!  _ She slammed her hand down in frustration, as the thought, the desire for the butter slammed forcefully through her head, her eyes going wide when her hand landed in the bowl of butter on her knee. She blinked at her butter caked hand before her eyes snapped up to Becky’s empty hand.

“Excellent, Catarina. You wanted the butter enough to summon it. With a little practice, you will be able to direct it to land in your hand,” Magnus said, beaming at the look of pride on Cat’s face.

“I did it!” Cat yelped, staring at the butter all over her hand. She watched as Magnus waved his hand and the butter disappeared, leaving her hand as clean as it was before.

“Yes, but how? How did you do it?” Simon asked, watching Cat’s head snap around to face him with a confused look on her face. “How did you make the butter appear on your knee?” he asked again.

“I really wanted it?” Cat asked uncertainly, looking around at the faces watching her intently. She thought about what Simon had asked her. “I wanted the butter… I forced it with my mind. I willed it to me, commanded it, because I really wanted it, like a wish,” she said, looking around once more.

“Try it again,  _ make  _ it appear in your hand,” Simon said, nodding his encouragement when Becky retrieved the bowl of squashed butter and held it up. “Remember, you  _ want  _ that butter to land in your  _ hand _ ,” he said, sitting back in his chair to watch.

Cat tried again,  _ I want that butter to land in my hand!  _ She told herself firmly, imagining the butter bowl landing in the hand she held out. She grinned, her eyes snapping open when she felt the cool ceramic bottom of the bowl and its firm weight in her hand.

“Much better!” Magnus grinned. He snapped his fingers, conjuring a knife with a flourish and handed it to Cat, watching her scoop some butter up and spread it on her bread. “How about another lesson?” he asked, smiling when Cat nodded emphatically as she stuffed the bread into her mouth.

“You have finished with the butter now, you no longer need it,” Magnus said, smiling when Cat nodded, understanding dawning on her face. “Banish the butter the same way you conjured it but imagine sending it away now. Imagine the butter landing on the shelf,” he said.

Cat concentrated, waving her hand with a flicking motion as she firmly told herself that she  _ didn’t  _ want the bowl any more. She imagined the bowl disappearing to land on the shelf, finding it easier now that she knew how it worked. She opened her eyes when the weight disappeared.

“Don’t worry, that was all you,” Magnus laughed when Cat opened her eyes and looked at him with suspicion on her face. The expression turned to one of pride when Cat realised that it had worked and that none of them had taken the bowl away while she wasn’t looking.

“You did well, Cat,” Becky said, grinning at the pride on Cat’s face before she turned to Magnus. “You needed me for something?” she asked him.

“Yes, I think Cat has a natural aptitude for healing. Seeing as you are a gifted healer yourself, I was wondering if you would be willing to work with her to assess her capabilities, see if you can draw something out?” Magnus asked.

“Sure, what makes you think so though?” Becky asked curiously. She studied the mysterious girl that her brother’s friend had suddenly laid claim to, wondering what her story was and how he had come to the decision to take her in.

“Something she did this morning. Catarina saved a friend of mine, he digested something poisonous and she healed him. It was instinctive, and rather incredible actually. My healing skills are rudimentary at best, what she did was beyond my capabilities,” Magnus said, avoiding Simon’s keen gaze as he explained.

“I also think she might be an empath. I was upset the other day and yet, she soothed me just with a touch,” Magnus said, smiling down at Cat.

“Okay, how about we do a little test, see what you’ve got, Cat?” Becky asked. She snapped her fingers when Cat nodded emphatically, raising her hand when Cat’s eyes widened. “Don’t worry, this isn’t for you, it’s for me. It won’t hurt,” she assured Cat as she took the small blade she had conjured and swiped it across her palm.

Simon didn’t know whether to watch Cat or Magnus. If Clary had been there, there would be no way Magnus would have gotten away with his explanation of his “friend”. He was curious himself, wondering who the mystery “friend” was, maybe a lover? The question was on the tip of his tongue when Cat moved closer to Becky. He leant forward in his chair to watch instead.

Cat shuffled closer to Becky, staring at the dark line of blood that had beaded across her palm. It wasn’t as light as mortal blood but not quite as dark as ichor. She reached out, taking Becky’s hand in her own and inspected the gash before laying her own palm over the woman’s cut and closing her eyes.

Becky studied Cat’s movements. She sank her awareness down into her own body, waiting for Cat’s next move intently, to see what she would do.

Cat waited for something to happen. What she had done that morning had been instinctive, not a conscious command. Her magic had worked almost of its own accord so she waited, a little impatiently, for it to react again, frowning when it didn’t immediately jump out of her and seal the cut up.

_ Seal the cut up. What did I do this morning? What did my magic do? It went into Alec’s body like it was when I was inside his body. _

Cat concentrated with everything she had, not enjoying the sensation of warm blood pooling beneath her hand. She imagined being inside of Becky’s body, the way she had with Alec and almost lost her concentration when she felt it, felt Becky surround her mind.

“That’s it, Cat,” Becky whispered, not wanting to break the child’s concentration when she felt Cat’s presence along with her own. “What do you think you need to do next?” she asked.

“I need to seal the skin up so more blood can’t leak out,” Cat whispered back, not quite sure why she was whispering in the silence of the room.

“Yes you do, but there are other steps before we seal the skin, can you guess what they are?” Becky asked quietly, opening her eyes to look at Cat, seeing the adorable way her face was screwed up with a mixture of concentration and confusion before sinking back into herself.

“I need to seal the little tubes up first?” Cat asked. Veins, she remembered Magnus had called them when she saw the hundreds of little tubes with her mind’s eye.  _ It’s like they are pulsing.  _ She thought to herself. She could see the damage, pulsing with a red light, the opposite to the darkness of the poison that had tried to sweep through Alec that morning.

“Yes, start off with the tiniest tubes, these are called capillaries. They are more plentiful than the veins, these carry blood and oxygen around the body, the same as veins but they are smaller. Seal them up first,” Becky said, smiling when Cat’s magic surged through her hand.

Cat pushed on her magic, pushing it out when she realised it wasn’t just going to burst out of her and instantly heal Becky’s hand. She tried to direct it as best as she could. It took her a moment to get a grip on it. It wasn’t like a tangible thing that she could hold in her hand but she managed it.

“That’s it, will the broken… thread’s to knit back together,” Becky said, watching Cat do just that. She realised with a start that although the cut was still wide open, she wasn’t in any pain. “Cat, what are you thinking right now?” she asked.

“That I have to hurry. I don’t want you to hurt for me,” Cat said as she slowly forced the tiny capillaries to knit back together, it was taking a long time. “There are a lot, I don’t want you to be in pain,” she mumbled, speeding up when she got the hang of it.

Becky opened her eyes to stare at Cat before she met Magnus’ gaze, shaking her head silently at the questioning eyebrow he raised at her. Her eyes flicked to Simon, seeing the same questioning look on his face before she concentrated once more.

“You’re doing brilliantly, Cat. now, we have all of the small ones sealed, start on the bigger ones, the veins,” Becky said, smiling when Cat followed her instruction. “Yes, just like the capillaries. If we didn’t fix the veins and capillaries, the blood wouldn’t flow properly through the body and then we really would be in trouble!” she said when Cat caught on quick.

“These are easier, they’re bigger and there aren’t as many,” Cat said. There were still a lot, but not as many as the tiny, branching capillaries. They ran in straight lines instead of looking like little winter-stripped trees. She knit them back together, one by one until each vein was sealed.

“What next?” Becky asked, opening her eyes to see Cat chewing on her bottom lip, smiling when Cat answered.

“Now the skin?” Cat asked uncertainly as she assessed the damage. “No, not the skin, these… these… damaged things,” she said, not knowing how to describe it.

“Those are called muscles and yes, they are the next thing we need to fix,” Becky said with a grin. “Its a very important step, if we don’t fix the damage, I won’t be able to use my hand anymore. The muscles contract when our brain tells them to. If we didn’t fix that, I wouldn’t be able to pick things up,” she said.

“And it’s just the same as with the veins?” Cat asked, willing the fibrous muscles to start knitting back together.

“Exactly, perfect!” Becky said, a small spark of pride welling up when her muscle was healed. She liked the girl, liked how excited Cat seemed to be at the thought of healing.

“There’s one more thing before we move onto the skin. The last thing is the nerves. These are just as important as the muscles, without the nerves, we wouldn’t be able to feel anything. These tell our brains when we are hurt,” she said.

Cat had already found what Becky was talking about, healing the last of the damage beneath Becky’s skin before she moved onto the skin itself. She opened her eyes, looking down at the blue glow that surrounded her and Becky’s hands and willed the skin to knit together, the same way she had with everything else.

Magnus watched Cat raise her and Becky’s hands to eye level, staring at her hard work intently. He reached out and squeezed her shoulder, proud of the magic she had performed, before turning to Becky.

“Look at that, Cat, I won’t even have a scar!” Becky said, chuckling when Cat let out a sigh of relief. “You were right, Magnus. She is gifted, she picked it up extraordinarily fast! And she is definitely an empath. She blocked the pain without even having to think about it,” she said.

“How do you feel, Cat?” Simon asked, watching the girl. She didn’t seem to be too exhausted, not the way he had expected her to be. It was only a small area, but it was her first time after all and she wasn’t used to using magic.

“I’m okay, a little bit tired but that's all,” Cat said with a shrug, wondering if she should be feeling something else. She looked to Magnus uncertainly.

“You did just fine, little one,” Magnus grinned, it was just like that morning, something that came naturally to her. He turned to Becky. “Would you be willing to work with her? To train her up?” He asked.

“Of course, it would be my pleasure. You know how hard it is to find demon's that actually want to develop healing skills, it will be refreshing. Is that something that you would like Cat?” Becky asked.

“Yes, I'd love to!” Cat almost yelled, grinning from ear to ear when all the adults smiled. “Can I learn other things too?” She asked as she turned to Magnus.

“Of course you can,” Magnus said, getting to his feet. “Not right now, now, I plan on having a decent wash and taking a nap. Come along dear,” he said.

“But, I'm not even tired!” Cat said, looking around at Simon and Becky beseechingly. She wanted to learn more magic.

“She can stay for a while, I'll bring her back later if you want,” Simon said, holding back a smile at the indignant, desperate expression on Cat's face.

“Are you sure? You don't have to,” Magnus said, looking from Simon to Cat, smiling when Cat practically hung off of his leg, begging to stay. He looked up at Becky, taking in the indulgent smile before nodding. “Alright then, thank you. You must be in your best behaviour though, Catarina,” he warned.

“I will. Thank you! thank you, thank you,” Cat mumbled into Magnus’ long leg as she squeezed him.

Simon rose to his feet to see Magnus out, laughing when he saw the lost look on Magnus’ face. “She'll be fine,” he said.

“She didn't have to be that enthusiastic!” Magnus muttered under his breath, feeling a bit like a spare part. He turned when Simon grabbed his wrist.

“Have you seen Clary? She was supposed to come over last night but she never showed,” Simon asked before Magnus could leave. Magnus hadn't exactly been around much lately himself.

“No, I was… busy last night. She's probably having problems with her dad again. I don't know why she just doesn't get her own place,” Magnus said, rolling his eyes at Valentine's drama.

Magnus bade Simon and Cat farewell when Simon just nodded with a shrug. He headed for home and an extra long nap. He didn't want to waste the night on sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm?


	10. If My Name Should Fall From Your Lips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy the plot twist!!!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick one to let you know, unfortunately, I won't be able to post as often over the next month. My mum is getting married next month so it's all hands on deck and there are still a million things to organise. I will try to post as often as possible, at least once a week, but I'm sure you can all understand, her wedding will be top priority.
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think? <3

Magnus paced the edge of the outcropping, sure he was wearing a path into the rock. It had been eight night's since he, Alec and Cat, had woken on the outcropping. Five of those nights had been spent falling into a natural routine, spending every possible moment together, learning about each other.

This, however, was the third night in a row of those eight that he had found himself wondering the cliff alone.

Magnus had brought Cat for the last two days, knowing how much she had grown to care for his mate but after the last two, two long nights of Alec not showing up, he had decided to leave her in the care of Simon, Becky and Elaine, Simon’s mother, after she had quickly struck up a friendly relationship with Becky.

He hadn’t been spending much time with his friends, only seeing Simon when he dropped Cat off. He hadn’t seen Clary in days, almost a week.

Magnus pushed down the guilt that tried to rear up, he didn’t want to be one of those people that forgot their friends when they found their mate. He was finding the balancing act difficult to manage, treading a precariously fine line, something he wouldn’t have to do if they could be together properly.

But this wasn’t the time for guilt, he had bigger things to worry about. There would be time for that later.

Magnus was contemplating breaching the heavens themselves to look for his Alpha, desperate for some news of his mate, aching to know that he was safe.

Magnus looked down at the sheet of parchment that was screwed up in his hand again, for what seemed like the thousandth time over the last three days, smoothing the paper out to read Alec’s note.

 

**_Magnus,_ **

**_I am being sent on a training mission to one of the heavenly realms. I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to meet you, I had to sneak away to write you this note._ **

**_I’ll be gone for the entire night and most of tomorrow, there was no way for me to get out of it._ **

**_I will miss you terribly while I’m gone. Try not to worry, we will be together again soon._ **

**_Please tell Cat I’m sorry and that I will miss her too._ **

 

**_Wishing I was with you instead,_ **

**_Your Alexander_ **

 

That had been three days ago. Magnus had almost missed the note, he would have if the wind hadn’t carried Alec’s scent to him. He had followed it to find the note, weighted down with a rock. With no other way to communicate, it was their only option.

So Magnus had waited that first night, not wanting to return to his own realm, hoping that Alec would get finished with his mission early and come to meet him. It was a long shot but he would rather have taken the chance than missed an opportunity.

He had accepted the inevitable and returned to Edom, spending the day moping and teaching Cat the basics of reading and writing to keep busy.

Magnus and Cat had returned the previous night, hoping that Alec wouldn’t be too tired after his mission to meet them, or to at least find another note, only to come up empty-handed on both counts.

Tonight, he had decided to leave Cat with Simon, too keyed up to bring her with him. He missed Alec more than he could say. It was worse than the first week, having only met Alec once. They hadn’t spent any amount of time together then.

This was torture though. The day and a half that Alec had promised had doubled. Arriving and finding the outcropping empty yet again had sent his pulse racing and his imagination into overdrive.

_ What if he’s hurt? He is on a training mission. Training means fighting. What if he is trapped in some realm that he cannot escape from? What if the realm has been overrun with demons? What if he’s injured? Being kept hostage? Prisoner? What if something has happened to Isabelle or Jace? _

_ What if someone has found out? _

That thought put him on his ass, his knees going weak. And not for the first time that night. He took deep breaths, bringing his knees up to his chest as he fought the tears that stung his eyes.

_ What if Raziel has found out? What if he is being held as a prisoner and is facing some kind of trial? What if he is being banished as I sit here? _

_ What if he is falling right now? _

What if? What if? What if?

The words crashed through Magnus’ brain, again and again, forcing him to push his head between his knees to try and breathe, his hands scrubbing through his hair in his desperation for something tangible to hold onto.

_ He is okay. He isn’t hurt. He isn’t a prisoner. Nobody has found out. He will come back to me. _

Magnus chanted the words in his head like a mantra, as though thinking them would make them true. The fact that Alec was a day and a half late with no reason forthcoming tried to push through again. He repeated his mantra, trying not to imagine horrific scenes of Alec captured, beaten or dead.

_ If only he could have left another note. _

The distant, faint sound of flapping wings, too loud to be a bird, had Magnus’ head snapping up. He scrambled to his feet, the lurching, twisting feeling in his stomach starting to abate when he spotted a shape, too large to be a bird in the distance.

Magnus didn’t even stop to think. He launched himself over the edge of the cliff, beating his wings hard as he raced towards the shape, growing larger by the second. Tears of relief rolled down his face when he saw the moonlight glinting silver off the wings, forcing him to put on a burst of speed.

“Alexander!” Magnus yelled as he collided with Alec, slamming into his Alpha with a sob. His wings went limp when Alec’s arms wrapped around him, trusting his mate to hold him up as he wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck and his legs around Alec’s waist, moulding himself to his Alpha. He buried his nose in the scent glands in his neck to inhale his scent.

“Magnus, I’m so sorry, I couldn’t get away. I’m so sorry,” Alec muttered around the lump in his throat, clutching Magnus’ body to him as he made his way towards the cliff. He breathed deeply, inhaling Magnus’ scent when he buried his face in the crook of Magnus’ neck.

“By all the angels of The Host, I’ve missed you,” Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear as his feet touched down on solid ground. He slumped down onto the ground, away from the edge and pulled Magnus down to straddle his lap, wrapping his wings around them both.

“I was so worried. What happened? Where have you been? Are you hurt?” Magnus asked, stumbling over the words in his haste to get each question out first. He immediately set about checking Alec over, his hands already wandering over every inch of Alec he could reach.

“I’m fine, I promise,” Alec said, letting Magnus continue his inspection, he knew his Omega’s instincts wouldn’t allow Magnus to rest easy until he had seen for himself. “Raziel led the mission. It was supposed to be a routine training mission, turns out the realm we were visiting had a small invasion of The Horde.”

“Where you hurt?” Magnus asked again, yanking at Alec’s top, he barely registered that he was looking at Alec's bare stomach, too busy worrying about injuries.

“No, that’s what this is for,” Alec said, pointing to one of the glowing runes on his left hip. “It’s called an Iratze, it helps me heal faster,” Alec said, gently wiping away the tears that Magnus didn’t seem to be aware were falling down his beautiful face.

“I swear, I’m fine. I took a couple of scrapes and bruises but I’m fine,” Alec said, cupping Magnus’ face and tilting his head up to look his mate in the eye. “The rune took care of them,” he said, looking Magnus in the eye to assure him of the truth of his words.

Magnus stared into Alec’s eyes, his breath hitching with the after-effects of his tears, to see the truth there, that Alec was okay. He pressed his forehead to Alec’s, breathing deeply of the scent that now surrounded him. His instincts wouldn’t be going into overdrive if he had known where Alec was.

Wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck, Magnus buried his face in Alec’s shoulder once more, his fingers brushing through the soft down of Alec’s feathers to reassure himself that his mate was there. Even if he was wrapped around his Alpha with Alec’s wings wrapped around him.

“I’m okay. We’re okay,” Alec murmured against Magnus’ neck, taking deep breaths of his own as he held Magnus to him. Magnus wasn’t the only one who had spent the last three days missing and worrying about his mate. He pouted his lips out, kissing the soft skin of Magnus' neck.

Magnus sighed deeply, his eyes falling closed when Alec kissed his neck. His finger’s continued to swirl through the soft feather’s beneath his hands, tugging softly as his head tilted. He huffed out a deep breath when Alec did it again, the air leaking out of him as Alec nuzzled his neck.

The soft hair beneath his fingers was the first indication to Magnus that his hand had moved at all, so lost in feeling Alec in his arms. He curled the fingers of his left hand through Alec’s hair, continuing to tug softly at Alec’s feathers with his right when Alec’s lips brushed his neck again.

Alec’s breathing turned shallow in the crook of Magnus’ neck. The soft tugs on his feathers, close to where his wings joined his back, were phenomenal. If he had thought it was amazing when Magnus brushed his fingers over them, it was nothing compared the soft tugs.

Alec opened his eyes when Magnus pulled back, looking up when Magnus kissed his cheek. Magnus’ lips, pressing to the corner of his mouth had his eyes closing again, his arms around Magnus’ waist tightening. A faint smile ghosted his lips when Magnus kissed the other corner.

Magnus’ fingers in Alec’s hair tightened. He tugged Alec’s head further back and kissed him properly, brushing his lips over Alec’s plump ones. He did it again when he heard how shallow Alec’s breathing was, his own breath coming in short bursts as his kiss turned more insistent.

Magnus pressed his lips to Alec's harder, revelling at how soft they were. He had to pull a deep, shuddery breath through his nose when Alec responded, kissing him back just as insistently. He flicked his tongue out, licking at the seam of Alec's mouth and pushing in when his mate opened up.

Alec had to wonder if Magnus wasn’t trying to breathe his air. He could barely pull any in for himself when Magnus’ tongue met his but couldn't find it in him to care, not when Magnus was there, so vital, so solid in his arms.

Alec's hand tightened in Magnus’ leather tunic as he explored his Omega's mouth. He gripped the material hard, bunching it up as he pulled Magnus to his chest. He pushed his tongue deeper into Magnus’ mouth with strong, reassuring strokes, unsure of whether he was trying to convince himself or Magnus that he was there.

Magnus shifted in Alec's lap, his right hand left the feathers of Alec's wings to cup his jaw, the tips of his fingers pushing into the unruly strands of Alec's hair. He pulled air in, hard, when Alec broke from the kiss, his skin tingling when Alec pressed kisses to his chin. He let his head fall back, giving Alec room when he continued down, trailing kisses down his throat.

Alec kissed Magnus’ Adam's apple, sucking lightly at the slightly salty skin. He smiled when a vibration pulsed through his lips from the low hum Magnus made in the back of his throat. He released Magnus’ Adam's apple and pressed an open-mouthed kiss into the hollow beneath it, at the base of Magnus’ throat.

Magnus clutched Alec’s hair tighter, shuddering in Alec’s lap from the warm kiss on his throat, one of the most sensitive parts of his body. Deep bursts of pleasure skittered up and down his spine, causing him to rock in Alec’s lap, keenly aware of Alec’s rapidly hardening length beneath him.

The feeling of Alec’s dick, solid and thick, pressed against his ass, had Magnus’ own throbbing dick fully hardening. No words were needed as he pressed himself forward, pressing his own thick length into Alec’s stomach, to show his angel how affected he was. His eyelids fluttered when Alec’s tongue darted out, licking into the hollow with a low, soft moan. It had his head falling back even further.

Alec sucked at the skin in the hollow of Magnus’ neck, grazing his teeth over the skin. The feeling of Magnus’ dick, pressed firmly into his abdomen was breathtaking. It had him rocking his own hips, wanting Magnus to know what he was doing to him.

Alec let go of Magnus’ tunic, sliding his hands up Magnus’ ribs. He let his fingers trace every muscle he could feel, even through the thick leather, as his fingers brushed his mate’s ribcage. He pushed his hands under Magnus’ wings, sweeping his hands up to curl his fingers over Magnus’ shoulders, anchoring his Omega to him as his lips traced the lines of Magnus’ collarbones.

All Magnus could do was feel. Alec’s tight grip on his shoulders wasn’t tight enough. Alec’s thumb, brushing his skin as he tugged the neckline of his tunic out of the way, the combination of Alec’s sporadic breaths, floating over his skin, and the hot, open-mouthed kisses on his shoulder, it was everything.

A growl escaped Alec when the material of Magnus’ tunic got in the way of his lips. He pulled back, sliding his hands down to the hem of the shirt. He looked up into Magnus’ eyes, silently asking permission, and tugged the material up when Magnus nodded and retracted his wings.

Magnus lifted his arms, a shiver running across his heated skin when Alec’s fingertips grazed his arms as his Alpha pushed the tunic up and off of his body. He barely registered the split second it took for Alec to discard the top as his fingers once again swept into Alec’s hair.

Alec didn’t know whether to stare at Magnus’ beautiful chest or worship it. He pulled back for a moment, his eyes raking over the smooth golden skin and tight muscles of Magnus’ abdomen before his desperate lips returned to the firm muscles of Magnus’ chest.

Magnus clutched Alec’s head to his chest when Alec’s lips continued their exploration. His breath came faster, his back arching to push closer when Alec kissed his chest, circling his nipple.

Alec’s tongue flicked out, dashing over the hardened nub of Magnus’ nipple. The sharp intake of breath coming from above him had Alec doing it again, following with his teeth when Magnus’ grip on his hair tightened. He rolled Magnus’ nipple between his tongue and teeth, listening to the small, breathless moans as he teased it before a new scent had his nostrils flaring.

“Are you okay with this?” Alec asked, his already low voice like gravel when he pulled back to look up into Magnus’ eyes.

“What do you think?” Magnus asked, his tone husky with arousal as he watched Alec’s nostrils flare at the trickle of slick he had started producing, the second Alec had taken his nipple into his mouth. The dilation of Alec’s pupils had him producing a little more slick, something he was sure Alec could scent.

A smile lit Alec’s face up when Magnus dipped and kissed the tip of his nose. His hands found Magnus’ hips, brushing the smooth skin there with his thumbs as he returned his attention to Magnus' chest, taking his other nipple into his mouth.

The scent of Magnus’ slick got stronger as Alec sucked, invading his nose and scrambling his wits. The scent was Magnus, magnified tenfold, red hot and sweet in his nose. He was almost dizzy with desire, the scent curling through his head. It had him wanting to take Magnus there, quick and hard, long and slow, wanting to savour it, to taste Magnus, to breathe him in, to bury himself so far in Magnus that he might not be able to climb back out.

Alec tightened his grip on Magnus’ hips when they started moving again, a moan breaking from him to mix with Magnus’. The friction on his dick was exactly what he needed, pushing his hands to move of their own accord. His fingers dipped into the waistband of Magnus’ leather pants, gripping Magnus’ ass and pushing him further down.

Magnus buried his face in Alec’s neck when Alec released his nipple, tightening his arms around Alec’s neck as they simultaneously rocked his hips, grinding down harder on Alec’s dick. He moaned into Alec’s shoulder, pulling in lungfuls of Alec’s scent. He couldn't help but press open-mouthed kisses to Alec’s neck as the pleasure of the movement rolled through him, sucking at Alec’s scent glands.

Alec retracted his wings when Magnus started tugging at his tunic, pulling his hands out of Magnus’ pants to raise his arms. He let Magnus pull the top off him, the warm night air brushing his skin when Magnus tossed his tunic away.

Magnus’ eyes swept Alec’s body as it was revealed, tossing the tunic away to push his fingers into the hair on Alec’s chest.  _ Fuck!  _ He had seen a few hairs poking out of the neckline of Alec’s tunics and vests over the last week or so, but Alec’s body was even better than he had imagined. He traced his fingers over every muscle, mesmerised.

Alec leaned back on his elbows when Magnus bent and trailed kisses across his chest and down his stomach, his head falling back when Magnus nipped at each of the runes that covered his torso. His breath came in short, shakey pants as Magnus’ thumbs flicked over both nipples as his teeth grazed his hip.

Magnus gripped the waistband of Alec’s leather pants, sucking harder at the skin on his abdomen as the soft hairs trailing into Alec’s pants tickled his nose. He looked up to see Alec nod before pulling at the waistband, shuffling backwards to tug them off along with the undergarments his Alpha was wearing, his eyes glued to Alec’s dick when it sprang free.

Magnus discarded the clothing and sandals Alec was wearing, paying absolutely no attention to where they landed as he worked his way back up Alec’s body. He pressed his lips to Alec’s inner calves, his knees, his inner thighs, nipping biting kisses into his skin whenever he heard the sharp inhalations of breath from above him, exploring, learning every inch.  _ Beautiful! _

Magnus’ breath, blowing over his dick in short bursts had fire burning through Alec’s veins. He stopped breathing when Magnus took it in hand, staring him in the eye as he started to stroke him, asking if the grip was okay.

“Fuck, yes, just like that,” Alec muttered, staring back into Magnus’ cat’s eyes, his breathing starting up again at the sure movement’s of Magnus’ hands, one stroking him to perfection, the other massaging his balls.

Just the feeling of Alec’s dick in his hands had Magnus’ slick flowing faster. It was nothing compared to if he had been in heat, something he realised he and Alec would have to discuss, but he could feel it coming in a steady flow, making him uncomfortable in his restrictive clothing.

The snap of Magnus’ fingers had Alec blinking down at a naked Magnus, kneeling between his thighs. His eyes swept over every inch, a low growl of approval rumbling through his chest.  _ Beautiful, more beautiful than I had even imagined!  _ He had had some colourful dreams since meeting his mate.

Magnus snapped his fingers again, smiling as he took Alec into his mouth, when a soft feather mattress appeared beneath them, much to Alec’s delight. He had no desire to continue on the rocky ground, the hard rock digging into his knees and the heel of the hand he was supporting himself on.

Magnus closed his lips tight around Alec’s cock as he took him deeper into his mouth, gagging slightly when he went too far. He drew a few deep breaths in through his nose as he pulled back, relishing the taste of Alec on his tongue, the weight of his Alpha’s dick, the way Alec fit so perfectly in his mouth, not too thick to take in but reassuringly there.

His Omega, wrapping a hand around the base of his dick and stroking up to meet his mouth, had Alec’s eyes almost crossed. His heart rate sped up at what would have been an alarming rate if Magnus hadn’t been so perfect. He pushed his hand into Magnus’ hair, lightly scraping his short fingernails over Magnus’ scalp as he tried to breathe.

It was a losing battle.

Magnus hollowed his cheeks with every withdrawal, adding a little more pressure with his hand as he continued to stroke the base of Alec’s cock, the length he couldn’t take into his mouth. He adjusted the suction with every panting breath Alec forced out.

“Magnus… Magnus…” Alec breathed.  _ Fuck!  _ He looked down into Magnus’ eyes when they darted up to meet his, his hand softly tugging at Magnus’ hair. It was too much, it was perfect, it wasn’t enough. He settled for a half moan, half groan when Magnus pulled back.

“Are you okay? Was it not…?” Magnus began, his words being cut off when Alec pulled him up. He blinked at Alec, a small smile ghosting his lips when he lost his balance, sprawling all over his mate.

“Don’t even think about finishing that question,” Alec growled as he rolled them over, landing between his Omega’s legs. “It was amazing, perfect. Too perfect,” he whispered in Magnus’ ear. It had been a while since his dick had gotten any attention and he needed to distract himself.

“Perfect?” Magnus smirked, his eyelids fluttering when Alec took the outer shell of his ear into his mouth. He tilted his head, relishing the trail of sucking kisses Alec pressed to his neck and the tight grip Alec had on his thigh, hitching his leg up onto his Alpha’s hip.

“Perfect,” Alec mumbled into Magnus’ shoulder, grazing his teeth over the skin. He sucked in a breath when Magnus’ hips bucked up, groaning when Magnus’ dick pressed into his stomach once more. He swept his hand down his mate’s thigh, scraping with his fingernails.

“Fuck!” Magnus mumbled under his none-existant breath, bucking his hips once more when Alec’s fingernails scraped down his inner thigh. It sent shocks running through his body. He grabbed onto Alec’s back, digging his own fingernails in when Alec sucked on his scent glands, his other hand grabbing Alec’s.

“Here,” Magnus said, pushing Alec’s hand past his dick, even if he wanted friction on it. He wanted something else more. He looked up into Alec’s eyes when his Alpha left his neck alone to look at him. “Touch me here,” he said, pushing Alec’s hand lower.

Alec caught on quick, his fingers brushing down the cleft of Magnus’ ass.  _ So fucking hot!  _ The way Magnus had asked for it, no embarrassment or fear, knowing exactly what he wanted, was one of the hottest things Alec could hear.

Alec groaned when he felt the slippery slick his mate was producing, felt how wet Magnus was for him. He swirled his fingers around Magnus’ hole, his own eyes closing, along with Magnus’, as he pushed his middle finger in, watching his mate’s reaction to be sure he wasn’t hurting him.

“More, Alexander, give me more,” Magnus breathed, clenching down on Alec’s finger as it sank into him. His breathing turned shallow, scraping up his throat from his burning lungs. It was perfect. He rocked his hips, the motion asking for more without words, a louder moan escaping him when his Alpha gave it to him.

Alec pressed his lips to Magnus’ collarbone as he started to move in and out of his mate. He trailed a line of kisses down when Magnus started to rock on his hand, easily finding Magnus’ right nipple. He sucked it in, teasing it with his teeth as he added a second finger.

Magnus could barely breathe from the pleasure rocketing through him. He was unsure if it was the shocks of pleasure, radiating from his nipple, the fingers moving in and out of him at a beautifully torturous pace or the slight burn those fingers produced, or a combination of the three. He wanted… needed more though.

Magnus wrapped his legs tighter around Alec, gripping hard with his thighs and pushing with all of his strength to roll them over. The tugging on his ass, as he came to straddle Alec, had a whine escaping him. A mixture of pain and pleasure that was breathtaking.

Alec stared up at his mate in surprise, his eyebrows practically rolling off of his face. The surprise soon turned to a grin when Magnus smiled down at him before rocking his hips. He curled his fingers every time Magnus’ hips bucked forward, moaning himself when the motion had Magnus’ ass brushing his cock with every roll.

Magnus fucked himself on Alec’s fingers, his moans growing louder every time Alec’s fingertips brushed his sweet spot. He gripped Alec’s shoulders, his nails sinking in slightly as his movements became quicker, hurried, in his desperation for release.

“Alexander, I need more,” Magnus moaned, his voice coming out huskier as his desperation to be joined with Alec grew.

“Can I…?” Alec started, trailing his free hand up and down Magnus’ spine when Magnus nodded emphatically. He sat up, wrapping his arm around Magnus’ waist as he pulled his fingers out of his mate. He caught Magnus’ lips with his own when Magnus raised himself up on his knees and took his dick in hand.

Alec moaned into Magnus’ mouth, the sound mingling with Magnus’ breathless moan as Magnus lined himself up and started to sink down onto his dick. He tugged at Magnus’ bottom lip, sucking it into his mouth and biting down slightly, his eyes screwed up as he tried, and failed, to calm himself.

“Fuck, I need this,” Magnus moaned against Alec’s lips, pushing into his Alpha’s mouth as he pushed down on his dick. His eyes slammed closed, his grip on Alec’s shoulder and hair tightening as he clenched. It was slow, having to give himself time to adjust, but that just made it better in his eyes.

“Me too, I’ve needed this since the second I lay eyes on you,” Alec whispered when Magnus let him up for air. He buried his face in Magnus’ shoulder, breathing hard at the perfect, exquisite clench on his dick. “Are you okay? It’s not hurting, is it?” he asked when Magnus’ movements stilled.

“No, it’s amazing, it’s perfect,” Magnus said, his voice quavering as he felt himself relax. He inhaled Alec’s scent, breathing deeply to calm himself when all he wanted to do was push Alec down and ride him until they were both dizzy.

Magnus rocked his hips experimentally, holding onto Alec as pleasure spiked through him once more, a pleasure that matched Alec’s, judging by the sound of the deep growl in his ear.

If Alec had thought Magnus’ mouth was skilled perfection, it was nothing compared to this, the tight, wet, hot heat of his mate wrapped around his dick. He trailed his fingers down Magnus’ spine, letting them linger at each indentation and bump as Magnus started up a steady rhythm.

Alec’s fingers continued their path over Magnus’ skin, his hands coming to rest on Magnus’ hips as he dipped his head, his searching mouth once again finding Magnus’ nipple. His own pleasure ripped through him every time Magnus pushed back down onto his dick, unable to stop himself from helping.

“Yes, like that, fuck! Just like that,” Magnus murmured, unable to manage anything louder when Alec’s hands, gripping his hips, started to move him, rocking his hips harder. The friction, the perfect, stretching friction, increased, along with the pleasure when Alec started bouncing him.

Alec dipped Magnus back, even as his mate continued to bounce, his hand releasing Magnus’ hip to find his dick. He grinned when he wrapped his hand around Magnus’ thick length, his mate’s head falling back with pure, unadulterated pleasure as he started to Jerk him off.

A low, deep moan ripped from Magnus when Alec started jerking him. The sensations were all too much. The new angle of his Alpha’s dick, when he leaned back, had it scraping his prostate, forcing the guttural sound from him as his thighs started to shake. Alec’s mouth, his teeth, biting down a little harder on his nipple and the perfect friction, the toe-curling grip on his dick, all of it was pushing him closer to the edge.

Alec happily went, unlatching his teeth when Magnus pushed him down onto his back. He started moving his own hips, chasing his pleasure just as had as Magnus, bucking up into his mate’s ass with each of Magnus’ downwards thrusts. He raised his knees, planting his feet in the mattress to fuck up into Magnus, the sound of skin meeting skin ringing out in the warm summer night air.

Magnus leaned further back, grabbing Alec’s knees as he bounced, needing something to hold onto as Alec’s hand on his dick sped up, twisting slightly each time Alec’s perfect grip reached the head.

“Alexander… I… Fuck! Alexander…” Magnus moaned, uncaring of the way his voice came out, breathless and husky and soft as his orgasm approached swiftly. The movement of his hips became sloppy, desperately grinding down with smaller movements to prolong the scrape on his prostate.

“Come for me, Magnus, come now,” Alec growled, his own orgasm rearing up from the constant clenching around his dick, from the sound’s his mate was making, just from the mere sight of Magnus, sheened with sweat and taking his pleasure unapologetically. He wanted Magnus to come at the same time as him, desperately trying to hold it back.

Magnus’ balls drew up as his orgasm hit, his movements almost grinding to a halt as his head fell back, his pleasure pouring from his mouth. He clenched harder as he came, his balls tightening as Alec’s hand almost dragged it from him. He came hard, exploding all over his own stomach and chest.

Alec continued to jerk Magnus through his orgasm, letting himself come when Magnus’ grip on his knees tightened. The sight of Magnus, painting his own stomach white was enough to take him there. He roared out his release as he filled his mate up, coming in jolting, toe-curling torrents, deep in Magnus’ ass.

Magnus slumped forward, draping himself bonelessly over his Alpha’s chest as his orgasm stole the last of his strength. He buried his face in Alec’s neck, gasping for breath as small aftershocks ran through him. He hummed into his mate’s neck when Alec’s arms wrapped around his waist.

“That was unbelievable,” Alec breathed, too breathless to get his words out, to sufficiently describe what the experience had meant to him. He held Magnus tighter to his body, pressing his lips to the top of Magnus’ head. “It was amazing! Was it…?”

“It was perfect,” Magnus whispered in Alec’s ear, his eyes drifting closed as he pouted his lips out to kiss Alec’s neck. He trailed soft kisses along the lines of the glowing rune on Alec’s neck as his heart rate started to settle. He grinned into the crook of Alec’s neck when Alec started giggling.  _ That is my new favourite sound!  _ The thought had a laugh bursting from his own mouth.

Alec beamed up at his mate when Magnus sat up to catch his lips, grinning against the soft lips that feverishly pressed to his. He winced when Magnus did, when Magnus pulled himself off of his dick, feeling his rapidly softening cock give a twitch of protest.

“I think my dick wants to stay buried inside you,” Alec murmured against Magnus’ lips, earning himself another chuckle. He grabbed his Omega around the waist and rolled them over, staring down into Magnus’ beautiful cat eyes.

“Who am I to argue with your dick?” Magnus asked as he reached up, brushing a few wayward strands of hair out of Alec’s eyes before tugging Alec down to kiss him, smiling as Alec let out a short, sharp, bark of laughter, kissing him until they were both dizzy.

Alec almost growled when Magnus snapped his fingers and cleaned them up, wanting a few more moments to admire the mess they were covered in. He soon settled when Magnus snapped his fingers a second time, producing a blanket and wrapping them both up tightly. He could certainly get used to snuggling up to his mate, especially when Magnus turned in the cage of his arms and wriggled back into his dick.

It didn’t take long for Magnus to succumb to sleep, smiling as Alec’s breaths on the back of his neck grew steady, his Alpha’s breathing becoming deeper. The smile would probably hurt his cheeks in the morning, but he didn’t have it in him to care. He was in his Alpha’s arms, where he belonged.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that happened! I'm all heart eyes at the moment <3<3<3
> 
> Also, Magnus isn't in heat. I'm trying something new with the slick when he gets turned on. I researched 17th century lubes and really didn't fancy having them jam Chinese yams up Magnus' arse. Apparently, this was one of the few things they had available as lube in the 1600's and there was no way I was doing that to our boys!!!


	11. Foundations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick announcement. When I started this, I had the story in my head, I knew exactly what I wanted to write. However, I didn't anticipate how intricate it would be... or how long. The story naturally falls into three parts and will probably end with 60-70 chapters, so I'm going to turn it into a three-part series. I won't be leaving it months between parts, they will follow each other but a 70 chapter fic is ridiculous! so a three-parter it is.

 

It was still dark when Magnus woke, opening his eyes to find himself draped over Alec’s chest. He blinked a few times, wondering if the grin that was stretched across his face, was the same one from when he had fallen asleep. 

 

Magnus turned his head, to look up at his Alpha, studying his pretty face, so peaceful-looking as he slept. A giddy, happy feeling bubbled up from the pit of his stomach when he saw his slack-jawed mate, snoring softly, Alec’s mouth hanging wide open, just like Cat’s did when she slept. He had to fight the happy giggle that wanted to burst from him.

 

Fighting the urge to kiss Alec was even harder but Magnus didn’t want to disturb him. He settled for gently pouting his lips out, to kiss Alec’s chest before disentangling himself, slowly pulling Alec’s arm from around his shoulder to sit up. 

 

_ We must have just naturally moved together in the night,  _ Magnus thought as he stretched, turning towards the edge of the cliff to watch the sunrise, not that he was complaining. He summoned himself a drink of water and sat cross-legged to sip it, his half of the blanket they had shared the night before pooling around his hips.

 

The slow rise of the sun, on the horizon, put Magnus’ mind at ease, lazy thoughts drifting through his head without urgency. A slow smile crept over his face as he brushed the water from his lips, his fingers lingering as memories of the night before paraded through his mind.

 

If someone had asked him to imagine what a perfect first time would be like, that would have been it. Sure, they had both had centuries to perfect the art of love-making, neither of them were virgins.  _ Not judging by Alexander’s moves!  _ But the way they had moved together, with each other, it just confirmed to Magnus that this was  _ his  _ person, his mate. They were made for each other.

 

Magnus started when he felt a brushing against his back. He didn’t turn, content to let Alec explore. His eyes closed when Alec’s touch became more insistent, enjoying the fingers that trailed up and down his spine.

 

“Good morning,” Alec mumbled. He shifted closer to Magnus, brushing his lips against Magnus’ back. The length of Magnus’ spine was begging to be kissed, so that’s what he did, trailing his lips over every notch of bone. He smirked against Magnus’ skin when he kissed Magnus’ wing-scars.

 

“Good morning, Alexander,” Magnus breathed, his head dipping forward, his chin coming to rest on his chest from the light pressure on his wing-scars, the warm breath brushing over the sensitive skin there.

 

“What are you doing? It’s not properly morning yet, come back to bed,” Alec said, sitting up a little straighter to mould himself to Magnus’ back and prop his chin on his mate’s shoulder.

 

“Bed? It’s a mattress on a mountain, it’s not exactly luxury,” Magnus chuckled, turning his head to press his lips to Alec’s cheek.

 

“I’d live on this “mattress on a mountain”, that was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had,” Alec said with a grin, curling his arm around Magnus’ waist when Magnus leaned back into him. He let his fingers dance over Magnus’ stomach as he repeated his earlier question. “So, what are you doing?”

 

“I’m thinking,” Magnus said, snapping his fingers to produce a drink of water for his mate and handing it over, watching as Alec chugged the entire drink down in a few swigs.

 

Alec put his empty mug down on the ground next to the mattress and pulled Magnus around to face him. He lay down again, resting his head in Magnus’ lap to look up at him.

 

“What are you thinking about?” Alec asked. He relaxed into Magnus, turning to press a kiss to Magnus’ stomach. His eyes darted up when Magnus’ fingers threaded through his hair, to see his Omega staring down at him.

 

“You, me… us,” Magnus said, letting his fingernails scrape over Alec’s scalp. He shook his head when Alec opened his mouth, taking a minute to gather his thoughts. “We slept on a mattress on a mountain last night,” he said.

 

“Uh… yeah, I know, we’re still sitting on it,” Alec said, confusion marring his face as he looked up at Magnus. “Was it not… enough? Maybe it wasn’t perfect but…”

 

“Believe me, it was perfect!” Magnus reassured his Alpha, not meaning to make him doubt his capabilities, in his love-making or his ability to provide. “It was everything, that’s not what I meant. This is our eternity, Alexander. Are we going to continue sleeping on a mattress every night?”

 

“I’m sorry, I… I can do better, I...” Alec cut off when Magnus hushed him, his mate’s fingers tightening in his hair, stopping him from rising when Magnus held him in place.

 

“No, what I meant is, if we are to continue to meet on this mountain, or in this realm even, I want somewhere comfortable for us.  _ We  _ can do better, for each other,” Magnus said, his fingers once again combing through Alec’s hair. “It won’t be warm forever. We need some sort of shelter,” he said.

 

“You mean like a home of our own?” Alec asked, a smile spreading over his face at the thought of a home with Magnus. “Like a cabin?” he asked, already seeing it in his mind

 

“Of a sort, yes. Somewhere we can meet up, somewhere we can be together,” Magnus said. He grinned at the expression Alec wore. “I want somewhere that is ours,” he said softly.

 

A million possibilities flashed through Alec’s mind at Magnus’ words, his imagination running away with him, painting a vivid picture.

 

“What did you have in mind?” Alec asked, his curiosity piquing when he blinked the pictures away to see an equally faraway look on Magnus’ face.

 

“This valley seems to be deserted, maybe we could build something here?” Magnus suggested, gazing out over the valley below their mountain. “We don’t have to hide what we are here, from prying mortal eyes. There is plenty of space. I love the sound of a cabin,” he said.

 

“It is peaceful here and this is where we met, it would be ideal,” Alec agreed, also looking out over the valley. His eyes scoped the landscape,  the large lake, surrounded by forests on three sides, the shore at the foot of their mountain, the entire valley surrounded by mountains. 

 

“It isn’t somewhere easily accessible to mortals but I think we should check it out anyway, just in case,” Alec said, regretfully pushing the blanket off to sit up. He would have much preferred to stay exactly where he was.

 

“I can scout it out if you need to get back,” Magnus said as he eyed the rising sun with a sigh.

 

“I don’t have to get back, I don’t have any duties until tomorrow,” Alec said, grinning when Magnus’ head snapped around, his mate’s eyes going wide, almost as wide as the grin he had plastered on his face. “We never really got the chance to talk last night but I don’t have to rush back, what about you?” he asked.

 

“I’m sure Simon won’t mind holding onto Cat for a bit longer, she loves it there. She’s more than happy to spend time with Becky, so excited to learn to heal,” Magnus said, waving their mugs away with a flick of his wrist as he scooted over the mattress, practically pouncing on Alec in his excitement at the prospect of spending the entire day together.

 

“And I think we communicated rather effectively last night,” Magnus smirked, throwing a leg over Alec’s hips to straddle him. He grinned at Alec’s matching smirk, grabbing Alec’s wandering hands and pinning them above his head.

 

“I couldn’t agree more!” Alec chuckled. He used his angelic strength, twisting his hips until he rolled them over. A quick twist of his wrists had Magnus’ hands clasped in his, interlocking their fingers. “How about a little more “communicating”?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows when Magnus laughed.

 

“I like the sound of that,” Magnus murmured, draping his legs over Alec’s thighs. He raised his head, meeting Alec’s lips halfway, fighting his grin to kiss his Alpha. He teased Alec with quick pecks, pulling back every time Alec tried to find purchase, laughing at the faux growl rumbling through Alec.

 

“Don’t tease!” Alec said, pouting when Magnus laughed. He released Magnus’ hands when Magnus tugged at his grip, burying his own hands in the mattress when Magnus surged up and wrapped around his chest.

 

“I never tease,” Magnus winked, moulding himself to Alec, practically hanging off of his Alpha’s neck to plaster his lips to Alec’s. He opened up immediately, giving himself over to him when Alec’s tongue pushed into his mouth.

 

Alec wrapped an arm around Magnus as he invaded his mouth, breathing hard from the kiss and the sensations it elicited. He rolled his hips when he felt Magnus’ dick twitch against his own, his breath becoming shallow, just from that small contact. He grunted in surprise when Magnus bucked with all of his strength, reversing their positions once more.

 

Magnus sat up, grinning when Alec tried to chase his lips. He settled in place on Alec’s hips, rolling his own when he felt Alec’s rapidly hardening length nestle between his asscheeks. His wings shot from his back when Alec’s wandering hands brushed over his wing scars.

 

Alec set about brushing his fingers through Magnus’ feathers the second they appeared. All wings were beautiful, but these were his favourite. They were impossibly dark, but there was a wit-stealing, stunning kind of beauty to their darkness. The bronze speckles that radiated from the base of them were branded onto the inside of his eyelids whenever he closed them.

 

Alec’s breath caught as he watched Magnus, sitting on his hips with his wings spread wide. It was probably one of the most beautiful sights his eyes had ever lay claim to, the sight of Magnus, eyes closing as he began to tug at the soft feathers beneath his fingers, the blankets pooled around Magnus’ hips with the pink and orange sky of the rising sun behind him.  _ Beautiful. _

 

“See something you like?” Magnus asked breathlessly when he opened his eyes and saw the look in Alec’s eyes, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth to correspond with the one on Alec’s face. The pulling on his feathers had shocks skittering up and down his spine, stealing his concentration as he tried to focus. “I thought we were supposed to be scouting the mountains?” he asked.

 

“You started it!” Alec said, almost gasping the words out as Magnus’ hips rolled once again. His hands left Magnus’ wings, brushing down Magnus’ ribcage to land on his hips, helping Magnus’ movements.  

 

“Yes, and it looks like I’m going to have to finish it,” Magnus said, dipping his wing to flutter against Alec’s cheek before regretfully climbing off of his mate. He chuckled when Alec rolled over and groaned into the mattress. He hadn’t intended to get either of them going and not finish what they had started but they really did need to get going.

 

Alec heaved himself up off the mattress, his eyes raking over Magnus’ sublime, naked body as his Omega stretched. He couldn’t help himself, reaching out and pulling Magnus flush to the front of his body, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ stomach.

 

“Please, can we continue this later?” Alec asked, almost begging as he breathed the words into the nape of Magnus’ neck.

 

“Fuck! I want to continue now,” Magnus muttered, feeling Alec’s dick press into the cleft of his ass once more. He shook his head to dislodge the thoughts of dragging Alec back down onto the mattress, his own dick was just as hard.  _ Focus Magnus! _

 

“What’s stopping us?” Alec asked, smirking at the way Magnus’ breathing turned shallow. 

 

“Uh… we need to… shelter,” Magnus said, having to drag the words through the lust fogging his brain up.  _ If we carry on like this, I’m going to start producing slick again.  _ His body seemed to have a mind of its own and that certainly wouldn’t help.

 

“Behave yourself, Alexander,” Magnus muttered with a grin. He shook himself off, along with his Alpha to search for his clothes, laughing when Alec groaned again. He found his clothing in a pile at the foot of the mattress, scooping them up when Alec started moving again.

 

Alec pushed down on his dick, silently commanding it to behave as his wayward mind strayed to memories of the previous night. He found his clothes and started throwing them on, already imagining carrying on where they had left off.

 

“Shall we?” Magnus asked when they were both fully dressed, gesturing to the edge of the cliff. He unfurled his wings once more and leapt off the edge of the outcropping, looking to his left with a warm smile when Alec joined him. “Should we split up? We can cover more ground that way,” he asked.

 

“No! I don’t care if we have to fly all day, I don’t want to spend one more minute away from you than I absolutely have to,” Alec growled, flying as close to Magnus as their wings allowed. He gestured to his left. “Why don’t we check out the surrounding mountains for settlements?”

 

They spent half of the morning flying over the extensive mountain ranges that surrounded their mountain, scoping them out for any signs of civilization and finding none. The rocky, steep terrain, while hospitable enough for nimble animals, was inaccessible to the mortals. They were only able to explore due to their wings.

 

They talked as they flew, discussing the small and the big things that had happened in their lives. What their lives had been like and the events that had made them who they were, sharing stories of themselves and their friends and family.

 

**

 

Alec gestured down to the valley floor instead of the outcropping when they finished scoping the mountains out. He landed lightly on his feet at the foot of the sheer rock face of their mountain, on the shore of the lake, and looked around at the forest’s that surrounded it.

 

“It’s secluded, as we thought,” Alec surmised when Magnus landed, gracefully, next to him. He took Magnus’ hand in his own, interlocking their fingers. 

 

“I don’t think civilization has caught up with this side of the world yet. The natives of this land seem to be happy living traditionally,” Magnus agreed. “I like to spend time in the mortal realm,” He shrugged by way of explanation when Alec raised an eyebrow at him. 

 

“I prefer this side of the world, there are fewer mortals here. They live in tribes and are a nomadic people,” Magnus explained, something he had learned from his observations over the last century or so.

 

“Well, I for one am glad. We don’t have to hide here. This is our own little hideaway. I think this is the best place to build upon. It’s the widest part of the shoreline,” Alec said with a grin as he wound his arms around Magnus’ waist. “It’s close to the lake for water and bathing but high enough not to flood when it rains. There’s room for a small garden, a place for Cat to play and enough room to build a big enough cabin for her to have her own room,” he said.

 

“We could build five cabins here, it’s certainly large enough. And it is beautiful here. It’s Perfect!” Magnus said, happily following along in Alec’s wake when his Alpha released him and once again took his hand to tug him towards the forest, content to let Alec pick the direction they walked in. The valley was beautiful wherever they looked.

 

Alec towed Magnus past the treeline, inspecting the trees that surrounded them. “These look suitable, don’t you think?” he asked, staring up at the towering trees that rose fifty feet into the air above them.

 

“They seem sturdy enough,” Magnus said. He released Alec’s hand and pressed his hands to the trunk of one of the trees. It was huge, the trunk at least three foot wide. “How many do you think we would need for a cabin?” he asked.

 

“Maybe we should start out with thirty or forty, to start off with?” Alec suggested, not wanting to strip the forest bare when they didn’t need to. He pressed his hands to the trunk, next to Magnus’, trying to measure it out in his mind’s eye. He grinned when Magnus just nodded his agreement.

 

The grin lasted for about thirty seconds. A crashing through the undergrowth had Alec pulling Magnus close to him, trying to shove his Omega behind his back. Until he saw what was making the noise. The grin returned as he willed his bow into his hand.

 

“What is it?” Magnus asked, trying to look over Alec’s shoulder. His magic was already dancing across his hands when he spotted a wild boar, crashing through the forest, not far from where they stood. He rolled his eyes when Alec’s bow appeared in his hands. He could easily conjure them food but the gleam in Alec’s eye, when his mate turned to him, had him holding back.

 

“How about I hunt us up something to eat? I know the berries were a bad idea, but I’m sure the pig would be safe to eat,” Alec asked, already nocking an arrow as he looked back over his shoulder to watch the boar’s progress, quickly moving away from them.

 

“Sure, I’m starving,” Magnus said, realising that Alec might feel he had something to prove after the berry incident. As far as he was concerned, Alec didn’t have a thing to prove. He had no doubt that Alec could provide for him... if the situation called for it. But it would cost him nothing to let Alec have this so he nodded in the direction of the retreating boar with a grin.  

 

“Go ahead, I will start taking some of these trees down,” Magnus said, laughing when Alec pulled him close and smacked their lips together. He watched Alec for as long as his mate was in sight, smiling when Alec bent to inspect the ground before taking off in a new direction and disappearing through the trees. He didn’t particularly like the sight of Alec’s back but he let him go.

 

Magnus made his way back to the tree line and inspected the trees there. He selected forty of the sturdiest looking trees to start off with. Rising up into the air, out of the way, he waved his hands, directing his magic to start sawing through them, grinning as they started to fall, one by one.

 

When Magnus had the first trees down, he landed and started stripping the first one down of foliage and bark with his magic, sanding the wood smooth as he went. He couldn’t keep the smile from his face when he felt the smooth golden wood, as it was revealed, beneath his fingers. 

 

_ This will look beautiful!  _ Magnus thought, picturing the finished cabin in his head. It took him a while, but when all forty trees were fully stripped and sanded to perfection, he selected a few more trees, giving them the same treatment before he started splitting them into beams and planks for the foundation and roof. They soon started piling up. 

 

As soon as Magnus had a pile of lumber ready to go, he began carving notches out of the ends of the logs he had designated for the walls of the cabin with his magic, to dovetail them together when they started building, practically scooping the wood out of his way with sure, steady movements.

 

**

 

A rustling behind him had Magnus looking up from his work, smiling when he saw Alec making his way through the forest with the boar slung over his shoulders. He looked around, realising that hours must have passed when he saw the position of the sun. He had been so consumed in his work that he hadn’t realised how much progress he had made or how much time had passed until he saw Alec’s expression.

 

“What’s all this?” Alec asked, his eyes boggling at the sight that greeted him when he joined Magnus. He deposited their evening meal on the ground as he stared at the logs Magnus was working on. What should have taken weeks had only taken Magnus a few hours. 

 

“I thought you said you were going to start taking them down?” Alec asked, marvelling at how much Magnus had accomplished while he had been stomping through the forest.

 

“The perks of having magic,” Magnus said, glaring at Alec’s hands and snapping his fingers to clean them up when he saw that Alec was about to put his blood covered hands on his beautifully prepared logs.

 

“Sorry, there weren’t any streams to clean up with, in the forest,” Alec said when his hands were suddenly clean. He brushed his fingers over the smooth golden wood, smiling as he imagined them set in place. “It will look beautiful!” he murmured, inspecting the deep notches in the ends of the logs. He could see immediately what Magnus had done.

 

“They should slot together perfectly,” Magnus said, joining Alec in inspecting the notches.  _ I hope they will,  _ he thought. “These are for the outer walls and the planks are for the foundation and roof,” he said before turning his attention to the boar Alec had caught. He sighed with relief when he saw that Alec had already dressed the pig.

 

Alec picked the boar up when Magnus gestured for him to follow, carrying it away from the forest in Magnus’ wake. 

 

Magnus waved his hand, cleaning the pig up when he judged they were far enough away from his logs. Another wave of his hand had a roaring fire going. A final wave had the pig sitting on a spit and turning over the flames.

 

“That should take a few hours, how about we get started on the cabin?” Alec asked, taking Magnus’ hand in his own to pull him closer to the foot of the mountain. The lake was large with a small shore around three sides, before the forest started, but the shore at the foot of their mountain was much wider so he thought that would probably be the best place.

 

“Sure, the ground seems sturdy enough,” Magnus said, shrugging his tunic off as he took in the slope of the ground, down to the lake, seventy odd feet away. He raised his hands, waving them to start scooping the earth away for a foundation.

 

Alec watched in fascination as the dirt started flying, his eyes going wide at the rate Magnus started clearing a hole in the ground. He wasn’t sure if he should watch the dirt or Magnus’ muscles gliding under his skin as he directed his magic. He shook himself off and dodged out of the way when the discarded dirt started piling up, deciding to make himself useful.

 

Alec took to the sky, clearing the distance to the logs Magnus had prepared in a minute. He focused on his strength rune as he bent to pick up the planks of wood, now almost forty feet in length. He hefted an armful of the wood up in his arms and took to the sky once more to deposit the wood near the hole Magnus was making before returning for more.

 

Magnus continued to dig down, scooping the earth up fast until he judged it deep and wide enough. He smoothed the earth out until they had a sturdy, perfectly square hole, almost fifty feet in width and diameter. He jumped out of the hole, catching himself on his wings to land in the mound of dirt.

 

“Is that all of it?” Magnus asked when he saw the pile of lumber Alec had made as his Alpha adding the last planks to the pile. He conjured them a mug of ale each when Alec nodded and shrugged his tunic off, depositing it on the ground next to his own.

 

“Yeah, it’s just the logs after this,” Alec said, taking a seat in the dirt when Magnus handed him a drink. He sipped it slowly, smiling when Magnus sat down beside him and wrapped one big black wing around him. He sank into Magnus’ embrace as he stared out over the calm lake, the surface sparkling in the afternoon sun.

 

“Catarina is going to be so excited when she sees this place. I want to finish it before we tell her,” Magnus said when Alec settled next to him. He snapped his fingers, producing a small cheese board to pick at while they waited for the pig to cook, he was starved.

 

“She’ll lose it, I can just imagine her face,” Alec chuckled, picking a few shavings of wood out of Magnus’ hair before turning his attention to the cheese. A happy sigh escaped him as he munched and sipped his ale. He was hard pushed to remember a time when he had been this happy.

 

“We can create a little garden for her, let her have it how she wants it. Maybe she could grow some of the cures her mother taught her about,” Magnus suggested. He had scooped up enough earth for her to dig around in.

 

“I’d wager she would be a hardass about it,” Alec chuckled. He could already hear her warning them to keep their “big feet” out of her garden. “She would ban us out of her garden, never to set foot there,” he chuckled.

 

“We had best get a move on then or there will be no garden to banish us from,” Magnus said with a shake of his head. He downed the last of his ale and heaved himself up, pulling Alec along with him when Alec stuck his hand up.

 

After a lot of wrangling and several arguments, which almost ended with Alec being threatened with sleeping in the dirt on his own, they finally agreed on how the foundation should be built. 

 

They took to opposite ends of the hole and used their demonic and angelic strength and speed to good effect to lay out and nail down a foundation big and strong enough to accommodate the logs, easily hammering the beams of wood down.

 

“I think it’s strong enough,” Magnus said, walking across the wooden beams and jumping up and down as he went when they had finished. A smile split his face when the large square structure stayed in one piece, smiling when Alec did the same. 

 

Alec jumped off the foundation they had built and started gathering up the planks of wood they would be using for floorboards. With several trips, he set them down one at a time as Magnus started to nail them into place, pretty sure his mate was cheating with magic and not giving a fuck, his Omega was fast! It didn’t take them long to set all of the planks in place.

 

Magnus tossed his hammer away and cast several spells over the floor to protect the wood and secure all of the nails before he climbed to his feet and gestured for Alec to follow him. He bent his legs and pushed off, beating his wings to fly to their log pile.

 

Alec followed his mate, his eyebrows rising when Magnus snapped his fingers and proceeded to pick up one end of the first log. He swooped down to pick up the other end and shook his head when he realised that it was a lot lighter than it should be.  _ Must be nice to have magic,  _ he thought as he lifted the log and they started towards the cabin site.

 

“If we start on the north and south facing sides, we can build it up, alternating them with the east and west facing sides,” Magnus said, landing on the south side and laying his end of the first log down. “I’ll secure and treat them with magic as we go,” he said.

 

“Treat them?” Alec asked as he placed his end of the log down. He followed when Magnus took off again.

 

“Protection, weather-proofing, securing each of the logs so it will stay strong over the centuries,” Magnus said as he landed and picked up the next log, lifting it into the air when Alec grabbed the other end. 

 

They placed the log down on the north side of the foundation before returning for the next one. It took a minimal amount of manoeuvring to slot first the eastern facing log and then the western facing log into place, both of them jumping on the logs with their full weight to hammer them into place

 

The results of the first layer of logs, fitting almost seamlessly together, had pride in his mate bursting through Alec. He walked across the top of the logs, grinning when they held perfectly in place.

 

Magnus cast several spells over the first layer, watching with a small spark of satisfaction as the dirt he had dug up and foliage that he had kept back from the trees started to fill in the gaps with a wattle and daub effect. He cast protection spells on the wood, to protect it from the weather and seal it all together, strengthening the structure.

 

Alec checked up on their dinner while Magnus cast his spells, salivating at the delicious smell that filled the air. “It needs a few more hours I think,” he called over his shoulder when he saw how the slow roasting pig was getting on.

 

“Let’s see how many more layers we can get done then,” Magnus said as he joined Alec. his mate wasn’t the only one drooling over the smell of their dinner.

 

**

 

It was dusk before they got the last of the walls in place. They each used their body weight to hammer the last log into place before Magnus sealed it with his magic. He was scooping the last few notches out of the top layer, for support beams, with his magic when Alec’s hand gripped his wrist.

 

“Magnus, you’re exhausted,” Alec said, taking his mate’s shaking arms in his hands. He shook his head at Magnus’ eye roll. “We can finish this another day, another night under the stars won’t hurt,” he said sternly, pushing a little Alpha into his tone when Magnus lifted his free hand.

 

“Alexander!” Magnus yelled when Alec swept his legs from beneath him. He flailed for a moment until Alec’s strong arm wrapped around his waist to hold him bridal style. He wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck when Alec jumped down from the top of the wall, ten feet in the air.

 

“You’re exhausted too,” Magnus said, not objecting nearly as much as he could be when he was in his Alpha’s arms.

 

“I haven't been using magic all day!” Alec said. He was tired and sweating but he had only used his physical strength. “Now, let me take care of you. You’ve exerted yourself enough for one day,” he said as he set his Omega down on his feet.

 

“Fine,” Magnus said as he started shrugging his clothing off, making his way towards the lake and dropping each piece as he went with a smirk over his shoulder.

 

“So, are we just going to leave…?” Alec started, trailing off when Magnus completely forgot about the pig that was roasting away and started down the mound of dirt, stripping as he went. He forgot about the pig too. He followed Magnus towards the lake, pulling his own clothes off as he went.

 

“We are not eating while we are covered in dirt and blood,” Magnus called over his shoulder as he hopped out of his pants and dropped them on the shore of the lake. He hadn’t missed the blood still covering his Alpha’s pants. He winked over his shoulder before plunging into the freezing water.

 

It didn’t take long for Alec to follow suit, chucking his clothes aside as he darted towards the lake, almost tripping over his pants. He finally got rid of the last of it and plunged in after Magnus, almost yelping when the cold water hit his bare skin.

 

Alec moved fast, his teeth chattering until he reached Magnus. The water surrounding his mate was notably warmer than the rest of the lake. He wrapped his arms around Magnus, holding him close as his shivers started to dissipate. 

 

“Didn’t we just agree no more magic?” Alec asked as Magnus and the warm water worked to heat him up.

 

“I could let you bathe in the cold water if you would prefer?” Magnus grinned, the smile turning to a laugh when Alec pulled him closer with a growl. There was no way he was bathing in the freezing water, the hot water he was creating was working wonders on his aching muscles. 

 

“You have to admit, it does come in handy,” Magnus said as their shivering bodies started to relax. “You have your own brand of magic,” he said, his eyes darting over his mate’s shoulder as he wrapped his legs around Alec’s waist, to see Alec’s bow.

 

Alec turned, seeing what Magnus was looking at and rolling his eyes. “Summoning my weapons isn’t really magic,” he said.

 

“And you have your runes,” Magnus said, his eyes sliding from rune to glowing rune. “How do they work?” He asked.

 

“They were there when I was created, I just have to focus on them,” Alec shrugged, watching Magnus ogle him with a smirk. “I suppose you could say they are weapons too. They provide me with strength, speed, a sure aim… stamina,” he said, pointing the runes out to his Omega.

 

“Stamina? I like the sound of that one,” Magnus chuckled, his fingers following the path that Alec mapped out for him.

 

“Maybe I’ll show you how that one works sometime,” Alec winked. He ran his hands over Magnus’ body with the cloth his mate handed him, once more shaking his head at the use of magic, even if it did turn him on a teeny tiny bit. “Behave and let me take care of you,” He said, having to wrestle the blood from his straining dick to focus on cleaning Magnus up.

 

“Yes, Alpha,” Magnus teased, pressing his lips under Alec’s jaw to kiss his neck. He smirked into his mate’s skin when Alec’s hand, washing down his back in circles, stilled before scrubbing lower. He relaxed in Alec’s grip, silently admitting to himself that maybe he was tired, letting his Alpha dip his head back to rinse his hair off.

 

Alec bent and pressed his lips to Magnus’ Adam's apple as he rinsed Magnus’ hair, smiling when the water cooled for a moment before heating back up again. He ran his fingers through Magnus’ hair in the water before pulling him upright again.

 

“Maybe you should let me take care of you?” Magnus asked as he unclamped his legs from Alec’s waist. He took the cloth, rinsing it before he got to work scrubbing Alec’s body down. He batted Alec’s hands away when Alec tried to draw him closer. “Who needs to behave now?” he asked.

 

“Nobody, we should just forget about behaving, I’m far too old to be worrying about being good,” Alec muttered, pulling his Omega closer. He tried to bury his face in Magnus’ shoulder when Magnus slapped his hands away again.

 

“Dinner’s ready,” Magnus smirked, tossing the cloth over his shoulder and pulling out of Alec’s grasp to wade back to the shoreline, taking his warming magic with him. A small laugh burst from him when he heard a huge splash from behind him, looking over his shoulder to see that Alec had disappeared.

 

Alec emerged from the freezing cold water with chattering teeth, shaking it from his hair to follow Magnus. The cold water was helping, not a lot, he conceded when he saw the sway of Magnus’ hips, but a little bit.

 

Alec picked up their clothing when he made it to the shoreline, plunging back into the cold water to rinse everything off. The mixture of dry blood, sweat, dirt and wood shavings came off when he started scrubbing them against the rocks. He pulled it all out of the water and lay it all out on the rocks to dry out overnight before scooping up the large cloth that had appeared next to him.

 

Alec scrubbed at his hair as he bent his knees and pushed off from the ground. He beat his wings hard to climb the few hundred feet to their outcropping. He wrapped the cloth around his waist and heaved their mattress off the ground, gripping it tightly as he jumped over the edge of the cliff.

 

“I thought we might as well sit comfortably,” Alec said as he set the mattress down when he landed beside the fire. He found that Magnus had already set their dinner out, the roast pork and some tasty looking vegetables that he assumed Magnus had conjured. He set to with gusto when Magnus handed him a plate, both of them flopping down.

 

“I take my earlier statement back, this is the epitome of luxury,” Magnus mumbled around a mouthful of roast pork, groaning at the perfectly cooked meat and the comfortable mattress under his aching body.

 

Alec just grunted his agreement in Magnus’ direction, too busy filling his face to produce any words. The exhaustion working through him was a happy one, the aches coming from a long day of hard work. He didn’t mind it so much when his eyes wandered over what they had created.

 

Magnus followed Alec’s gaze as he continued eating.  _ Sure, it doesn’t have a roof or doors or windows yet but it’s ours!  _ Pride welled up in him at the thought, pride in what they had accomplished and happiness that they had somewhere of their own.

 

“Have you had enough?” Magnus asked when Alec set his plate aside and rubbed his hand over his stomach, still chewing. He raised his hand until Alec stopped him.

 

“I’m fine, I couldn’t eat another bite,” Alec said, waving off the threatening hand his Omega raised. He was already sure he would burst. He watched as Magnus finished his last few bites between yawns and put his plate aside too.

 

“Come on, let’s go to bed, you’re exhausted,” Alec said, gesturing to the cabin when Magnus finished his dinner. He stood and pulled Magnus up with him when Magnus agreed with another yawn, smiling at the confused look on Magnus’ face. He picked the mattress up when they were both on their feet.

 

“I don’t care if it doesn’t have a roof, I want to spend our first night in our home,” Alec said by way of explanation when Magnus eyed him and the mattress. Too tired for anything fancy, he gripped the top of the mattress and simply jumped over the wall, dropping the mattress when he landed inside the cabin. He retracted his wings and slumped down on it.

 

Magnus snuffed the fire out before following his mate, jumping over the wall and landing next to the mattress. A wave of his hand filled the darkened cabin, lit only by moon and starlight, with candles, giving off a warm glow before he retracted his own wings and slumped down next to Alec.

 

“I think if we put two walls in, there and there, we can make two bedrooms out of the west side of the cabin,” Magnus said as he settled back into Alec’s embrace, relishing the warmth of Alec’s chest against his back

 

“Perfect, we could build a stone chimney on the east side and maybe put a couple of windows in each of the walls, let a little light in,” Alec suggested, inhaling the scent of freshly cut wood. He wrapped his arms around Magnus’ waist, pulling his mate closer to him. “Better than a mattress on a mountain?” he asked.

 

“Much, it’s a place for us. We might not be able to spend every day and night here but it is ours,” Magnus replied, snuggling into Alec’s embrace. He pressed his lips to Alec’s arm, under his head, lingering when Alec’s arms tightened around him.

 

“We’re here now, we’ll just take it one day at a time,” Alec said, pressing his lips to the nape of Magnus’ neck. He let his fingers play along Magnus’ ribs, brushing soft circles into his mate’s skin when Magnus snuggled further into him, his heart stuttering at the way Magnus’ ass brushed over his dick.

 

“One day at a time,” Magnus agreed. He stilled his movements for a moment when Alec’s dick twitched against his ass. A grin tugged at the corners of his mouth when he did it again, wriggling his ass. He buried his grin in Alec’s arm when he felt the twitch again, rolling his hips more insistently.

 

“Do you know what you are doing to me?” Alec asked, trying to fight his body’s reaction to let Magnus get some sleep. 

 

“What I’m doing to you? It’s practically wedged in my ass,” Magnus said, giving Alec a look of wide-eyed innocence over his shoulder. A grin cracked the facade when he rolled his hips again and Alec’s eyes closed at the movement.

 

“You’re too tired,” Alec murmured. He gave in to his body when Magnus’ grinding continued. He rocked his own hips forward, meeting Magnus’ ass with the thrust. A low moan escaped him when his foreskin scraped back as Magnus’ ass rubbed up and down on his dick with small movements. “You need to replenish your energy after today,” he half whispered, half moaned.

 

“I thought you wanted to carry on where we left this morning?” Magnus asked breathlessly, his own rapidly hardening dick twitching against his thigh. The soft bursts of breath, on the back of his neck, had his hips moving faster.

 

Alec’s pupils, his nostrils, everything dilated when he felt and scented Magnus’ slick. He couldn’t produce any words from his dry throat as his breathing stuttered. He splayed his hand on Magnus’ abdomen, pulling his mate against him as his hips thrust forward, his dick easily sliding through the cleft of Magnus’ ass, from the slick leaking from it.

 

“Fuck… Alexander, make love to me,” Magnus breathed, his movements become more insistent, more frantic with the need that was steadily rising. His eyelids fluttered when Alec’s hand left his stomach and skimmed over his hip to knead at his ass cheek.

 

Alec gripped Magnus’ ass, pulling his cheeks apart. He groaned when Magnus’ hand slipped between their bodies and gripped his dick, giving it a few tugs before positioning it at his hole. He pushed into his mate slowly, easing his way past Magnus’ rim, a fraction of an inch at a time with a beautifully torturous friction on his dick that stole the last of his breath.

 

Magnus took deep breaths, his lungs clawing for air that wouldn’t come. He moved with his mate, slowly pushing back as Alec’s dick opened him up. He tilted his head further into Alec’s arm when it wrapped across his chest to grip his shoulder.

 

Alec’s lips found the spot behind Magnus’ ear as he clutched Magnus to him. He sank further into Magnus’ body, both of them letting go of dizzying breaths when he bottomed out, lying flush to the back of Magnus’ body. The wet heat encompassing his dick was perfection.

 

“Can I stay here forever?” Alec asked, stopping his movements altogether. He lay still, letting Magnus’ get used to the intrusion, even if he wanted to pull back and sink in again, just to feel that perfect friction all over again.

 

“Yes,” Magnus murmured. He clenched down on Alec’s dick, testing himself out. The stretch was breathtaking. He pressed kisses to Alec’s arm when the other one came around, his Alpha’s hand finding his dick. He let out a soft moan on his next breath when Alec started to stroke his dick.

 

Alec used the slick that covered his hand to stroke Magnus easily, tightening his grip slightly when Magnus’ hips jerked. He clutched Magnus tighter to him as jerked Magnus’ length with languid movements, his wrist twisting slightly every time he reached the head of Magnus’ cock.

 

Magnus’ breathing was a thing of the past from the sensations running through him. He felt himself loosen around Alec’s dick, the muscle of his rim relaxing from the insane pleasure of Alec’s hand and lips.

 

The slight sucking against Magnus’ neck had his hips bucking forward, chasing Alec’s hand. Shallow breaths burst from him as he started to settle into a rhythm of shallow, jerking thrusts, fucking himself on Alec’s dick and into his hand.

 

Alec was more than happy to let Magnus set the pace, occasionally pushing forward to meet one of Magnus’ backwards thrusts. He continued jerking Magnus, his movements becoming faster as he listened to breathless gasps his mate was making. He continued sucking at Magnus’ neck, needing the contact to ground himself as his heart thundered in his chest.

 

“Alexander, I need more,” Magnus asked, his voice coming out softer than usual with every movement of his hips. He would have mourned the loss of Alec’s hand on his dick if Alec hadn’t gripped his hip at his plea.

 

Alec started to push into Magnus in earnest, burying his face in Magnus’ shoulder to try and stem his heavy breathing. It wasn’t working, his breath bursting out in hitching pants that were almost dizzying.

 

Gripping Magnus’ hip harder, Alec started to pull his mate into every thrust, rocking his dick deeper into Magnus hot, wet heat. The clamping around his dick, as Magnus clenched on it stole all of his self-control, his own movements becoming just as desperate as Magnus’ were.

 

Magnus gripped the mattress, using it as leverage to push back into Alec’s thrusts. He took his dick in his free hand, matching the rhythm of his strokes to rhythm of Alec’s hips, getting steadily faster, and sloppier.

 

“I’m gonna cum,” Magnus muttered into Alec’s sweat-slicked arm, his hand movements stuttering before he started fisting the head of his cock. His balls drew up fast, almost as fast as his hand as he used his thumb to massage the underside of the head of his cock.

 

Magnus groaned loudly as his he came, his dick pulsing thick white spurts as his hips jerked on Alec’s dick.

 

The sound of Magnus’ mewling groan and the hard clench on his dick had Alec letting go. He pushed into Magnus two, three more times before it became too much. He pushed his dick deep into his mate as he came, grinding against Magnus’ ass as his orgasm rocked through his balls and he spurted deep inside of Magnus’ ass with a deep, drawn-out moan.

 

Alec tried to catch his breath, his arms tightening as Magnus’ body slumped, relaxing into him. His own body relaxed, the tension fading from his muscles as he went boneless. He hadn’t even been aware that he had tensed up, so caught up in his Omega.

 

“Much better than sleeping, yes?” Magnus asked, trying to calm his erratic heartbeat as he sank back into Alec. He was still breathing sporadically but Alec’s scent, invading his nostrils with each unsteady breath, was working to calm him.

 

“I’m pretty sure I’ll never sleep again,” Alec chuckled, holding Magnus closer for a second before pulling out of him. He brushed small circles into Magnus’ shoulder when Magnus winced, his lips following the movement of his thumb.

 

Magnus took a moment, enjoying the sensation of cum slowly dripping from him before cleaning them both up with a snap of his fingers, blowing the candles out with the same movement. He settled against Alec, enjoying the steadying breaths on the back of his neck. A yawn of his own escaped when his mate yawned into his neck.

 

“I will, I’m completely exhausted,” Magnus murmured, already feeling the pull of sleep on his eyelids. “That was wonderful, darling. Goodnight,” he muttered, a smile ghosting his face when Alec grunted his agreement.

 

“Goodnight,” Alec managed to mutter into Magnus’ hair as he felt sleep starting to take him, a smile on his face, he liked the sound of darling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clearly know nothing about building a log cabin, lol. Magnus could have easily set the whole thing up with his magic but I like the thought of them building their home together with their bare hands. He'll probably finish the rest of it with his magic bc I'm lazy af!


	12. Half of a Truth is Still Half of a Lie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks, thank you for being patient with me, the wedding madness will soon be over. 😁 And thank you for all of the kind well wishes for my mum and stepdad, they appreciate it! 💖💖💖
> 
> I'm so glad that we get to use emojis now!! 😻💃
> 
> If you haven't had a chance yet, head over to the one shot I posted a couple of days ago. Truth or Dare is some hot Malec cop smut 😏😏
> 
> Lot's going on in this chapter so keep your eyes peeled for the details! please enjoy 💖

Alec’s arms tightened automatically as he woke. He opened his eyes to the grey light of pre-dawn, blinking slowly down at Magnus, his mate sprawled across his chest. He allowed himself a moment to just watch Magnus sleep.

There was a quiet, peaceful, happiness to Magnus as he slept, something so simple, that filled Alec with his own sense of peace. He lifted his arm from around Magnus’ shoulder, to brush his fingers through the floppy hair that had fallen over his Mate’s forehead in the night, brushing it back from Magnus’ face.

Thoughts of the last couple of days had Alec’s mind wandering, the happy, peaceful feeling he himself felt, coursing through him as he looked around the dimly lit cabin. He was unsure if it was the unfinished cabin or the demon wrapped around him but he got a sense of home. It all felt right.

Alec’s arms tightened once more as he dipped his head with a sigh, kissing the top of Magnus’ head before extricating himself from Magnus’ grip. A full body shiver ran through him as when he pulled the blanket off, the cold morning air hitting his naked body.

_ I think we’re building just in time,  _ Alec thought to himself, realising the weather was turning cooler. He searched in the dim light for his clothing before remembering he had left it to dry outside. A quick hop over the wall had him standing outside the cabin, shivering harder.

Alec grabbed a tunic and pair of pants and shrugged them on quickly, sighing with relief when he was fully dressed. He hopped back over the wall and sat down on the edge of the mattress, smiling at the snores Magnus was letting out.

“Magnus, wake up,” Alec whispered, rolling him so Magnus was lying on his back. He looked down at his beautiful Omega when Magnus blinked his eyes open with a confused look on his face. “Good morning,” he whispered as his heart fluttered at the adorable pout.

“Morning?” Magnus asked, clearing his throat when the words gravelled out. It took his confused brain a moment to work out where he was and that he was actually awake. “I was dreaming that you and I were teaching Catarina to swim. It was nice. Why are we awake?”

“I have to leave soon, I’m on patrol today. I didn’t want to wake you, you looked so peaceful. But I didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye,” Alec said, cupping Magnus’ face and brushing his thumb over the light stubble that dusted his mate’s jaw.

Magnus’ gaze darted down when the last remnants of sleep faded to see that Alec was dressed and ready to go. His heart sank a little, he could also see the same look on Alec’s face, the one that said he didn’t want to leave. So he pulled on a smile for his mate.

“Will you be here tonight?” Magnus asked, pouting his lips out for a kiss, his stomach flopping when Alec’s hand curled around the back of his head and lifted it.

“Yes, as long as the demons don’t invade,” Alec joked, trying to lighten his own mood, and if he judged the expression on Magnus’ face correctly, his too before he brushed his lips against Magnus’.

Magnus wrapped his hand around the back of Alec’s head, holding his Alpha in place as he pressed his lips harder to Alec’s, trying to convey how much he would miss Alec while they were apart. He tried to keep the sighing to a minimum when Alec pulled back.

“Where do you think you’re going without breakfast?” Magnus asked when Alec made to stand up. He snapped his fingers with a grin at the eye roll Alec unsuccessfully tried to hide, handing over a stack of honey-sweetened oatcakes. “Power food, have to keep those muscles strong,” he said with a wink when Alec laughed.

Alec stuffed one in whole, his eyes closing momentarily as he chewed the delicious breakfast cake. He leaned down and pressed another kiss to Magnus’ lips before stuffing another one in and climbing to his feet.

“I’ll see you tonight, darling,” Magnus said, scrubbing his hand over his face when Alec bent a knee and took off, staring up to watch Alec turn into a silver blur as he rose. He rolled over onto Alec’s side of the bed, inhaling the scent of his Alpha from the cold side of the mattress.

_ It’s not the same as having him here. _

The thought had Magnus’ sitting up and looking around, sitting cross-legged as he stared around himself. He knew he wasn’t getting back to sleep and that he needed to get back to Cat so he forced himself up.

Magnus stretched himself out before jumping over the top of the wall, seeing that it was a lot lighter outside the dingy cabin as the sun rose in the distance. He scouted about until he found his clothes, his eyebrows rising when he realised that Alec had taken his tunic.

Magnus didn’t even try to hold the grin back when he retracted his wings and put Alec’s tunic on. It was slightly different to his own clothes but would pass muster if anyone looked too closely and the fit wasn’t too bad. He pulled his pants on and hunted his sandals down, snapping his fingers to tie them in place.

With one last look at the cabin and a wave of his hand, Magnus created a fiery portal in the ground. He bent a knee and rose thirty feet in the air before flipping and diving head first through the portal.

Magnus spread his wings when he emerged in Edom, catching himself before he could plummet to the ground. He set off for Simon’s house, beating his wings hard. He found that he had missed Cat, even though he knew that he and Alec had needed the time to themselves, she had become such a big part of his life already.

_ In both of our lives, she is the child we will never have. _

That thought had Magnus putting on a burst of speed, beating his wings harder as the ground blurred beneath him, to get to her faster.

Magnus let himself in when he landed, not wanting to wake up the entire house with his knocking. A wave of his hand had the door open in no time, Elaine’s ward’s recognising him instantly.

A snap of fingers had Magnus’ head whipping around as the room filled with light, to find Simon blinking up at him from the couch. A wave of Simon’s hand had the ball of light in his hand floating out to hover near the ceiling.

“I’m sorry, Simon, I didn’t mean to wake… why are you on the couch?” Magnus asked when he realised Simon was wrapped up in a blanket.

“Why do you think?” Simon asked, heaving himself up into a sitting position to glare at Magnus, rolling his eyes when Magnus just looked back at him with a confused look on his face. “Cat is finally asleep, she’s in my bed. Where have you been?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been visiting a friend,” Magnus said warily, frowning when Simon’s face darkened. He wasn’t one for fidgeting but Simon’s expression left him with the impression he was in trouble.

“For two days? Not good enough, where have you been?” Simon asked again, flinging his blanket back and getting to his feet. “Cat has been awake for the last two days, unable to sleep. She wouldn’t tell any of us why. I finally managed to knock her out with magic a few hours ago,” he said, stalking forward.

Magnus actually took a step back as Simon closed on him, staring at his friend.

“Every time she close’s… “ Simon cut off when he stepped closer to Magnus, inhaling the odd scent coming off of his friend. “Where have you been, Magnus?”

“I told you, I was visiting a friend, I wasn’t aware that I needed to justify my whereabouts to you,” Magnus said, stepping back when he saw Simon’s nostrils flare. “If it was too much trouble looking…”

“Of course it wasn’t too much trouble,” Simon snapped, trying his best to keep his voice down as anger rose up in him.

“She is wonderful, that’s not why I’m mad, Magnus. What’s going on with you? I’ve barely seen you or Clary over the last week. Even before that, you’ve hardly been around. This isn’t you, you don’t take a little girl into your home and just disappear. You don’t just leave your friends in the lurch and disappear for days at a time,” Simon said, breathing hard as he tried to push the anger and hurt down.

Simon knew for a fact that Magnus was keeping something to himself.

“I’m sorry, Simon… I…” Magnus didn’t know how to finish the sentence. He  _ couldn’t  _ tell Simon. He couldn’t. Couldn’t risk it, even if the look on Simon’s face had guilt rearing up once more. It was becoming more and more difficult to keep his friend out when all he wanted to do was confide in him. And Clary.

“What do you mean, Clary hasn’t been around Either?” Magnus asked. He hadn’t seen her much but had assumed she and Simon had been spending time together. The shake of Simon’s head had him feeling even guiltier.

“I haven’t seen her,” Simon sighed, scrubbing his hand through his hair as his irritation at Clary’s disappearance only fanned the flames. He knew he was being petty, that he wasn’t Magnus and Clary’s keeper but it still hurt.

A keening cry had Magnus’ head whipping around, the sound coming from the direction of Simon’s bedroom. He was moving before he knew it, Simon on his heels. Dashing down the hallway, he wrenched the door open to find Cat thrashing around on Simon’s bed.

“Catarina? Wake up little one,” Magnus said, almost yelling the words as he dashed across the room and scooped her up, his heart hammering when he saw Cat’s face screwed up in what looked like terror. He held her to his chest when she stopped shouting, going ramrod straight in his arms.

“Wake up, sweetheart, it’s a nightmare,” Magnus whispered in Cat’s ear, stroking his hand through her hair as a shudder ran through her small body before she woke with a scream. He sat on the bed and wrapped his wings around Cat, caging her in his arms as she started to sob.

“Every time she closes her eyes, she starts screaming like that,” Simon said, scrubbing his hands over his face as he watched Magnus rocking Cat in his lap, soothing her with soft reassurances and gentle rubs on her back.

“I’m sorry, Magnus,” Cat whispered as she buried her nose in Magnus’ neck, inhaling the mixed scent of Magnus and Alec.

“What are you sorry for? It should be me who’s apologising, I shouldn’t have left you,” Magnus whispered back, continuing to rock Cat’s shaking body. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” he asked.

Cat peeked out of Magnus’ shoulder, through the gap in his wings as the after effect of her tears had her breathing hitching, to see Simon watching them.

“Simon, could you give us a minute?” Magnus asked when he saw where Cat’s gaze lay, a tight smile stretching his face when that was the last thing he felt like doing. “What is it, little one?” he asked when Simon left the room with a nod.

“Is Alec okay?” Cat asked when Simon left, once again taking a deep lungful of Magnus and Alec’s scent.

“He’s fine, he had to stay longer on his mission is all,” Magnus said, stroking his hand through Cat’s hair before wiping the track marks of her tears from her cheeks. “Is that what you were dreaming about, Alec?” he asked.

“You were so scared when you left, I thought something bad happened to him,” Cat said, swiping her hand over her face when a fresh wave of tears welled up.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. He’s fine, I swear,” Magnus said, his stomach dropping out of his asshole. He had thought he had been careful to keep his panic from her when he had left for the mortal realm.  _ Guess I didn’t hide it well enough. _

“I had a dream t-that we ha-ha-had to put him in the grave with my m-mama. That he wasn’t c-coming back, like she won’t,” Cat cried, stuttering the words out as her chest heaved once more.

“Oh, darling. I promise you, he’s fine. He came back to us,” Magnus murmured, tears rolling down his own face when Cat buried her face in his neck again. “He’s fine, he’s fine. He misses you, he can’t wait to see you,” he whispered.

Cat’s tears started to abate once more as she snuggled into Magnus’ arms, wiping her nose and tears on Magnus’ tunic. She fought her eyelids when they grew heavy again, not wanting to go back to sleep.

“How about we get you home and into bed? Simon said you haven’t slept,” Magnus asked, gazing down at Cat, she certainly looked like she hadn’t slept in days. He pulled a smile on for her when she blinked her eyes open again. “It’s okay, I’ll stay with you, okay?” he asked when he saw the panic in her eyes.

“Don’t want to… 'm not tired,” Cat mumbled, scowling when her body betrayed her and a huge yawn overtook her.

“Okay, well I want to go home, I’ll carry you,” Magnus said quietly, gathering her up as he stood. He felt awful when Cat’s arms and legs wrapped tightly around him, clinging on for dear life, as he made his way out of the room.

Magnus hadn’t spent much time around children and was wondering if he was doing anything right, unsure of how to balance everything that was going on in his life. It had a sigh escaping him, hoping he would do better next time Cat needed him.

“Simon, I’m so sorry, this won’t happen again,” Magnus said when he made it to the living room, Cat already falling asleep in his arms. He had planned on leaving Cat with Simon for another night so that he and Alec could finish the cabin before showing it to her but after what he had just witnessed, there was no way he was leaving her again.

_ And it will do her good to see Alexander again, she needs him. _

“Look, it wasn’t a problem, she’s a great kid. We love having her here,” Simon said, speaking truthfully as he reached out and stroked a hand through Cat’s hair, they had all grown fond of her. “We just couldn’t get in touch with you. She wouldn’t talk to us so we couldn’t help her. We need to talk, Magnus,” he said, opening the door for his oldest friend.

“Sure. Thank you, for looking after her. You’re a good friend, Simon,” Magnus said, patting Simon on the arm as he passed him in the doorway.

Magnus didn’t notice the look on Simon’s face, the confused, curious expression his friend wore as Simon’s nostrils flared once more, or the way Simon looked like he was on the verge of an epiphany as he pulled the door closed after him.

Magnus’ wings automatically took him home as he lost himself in thoughts of the past couple of weeks. So much had happened over a short period of time. Meeting his mate, Cat coming into his life, news of their impending guest. His thoughts turned to Simon and Clary as he landed in the courtyard.

_ I need to spend more time with them, I’ve practically abandoned them. It’s just so hard having to watch everything I say. Maybe I should tell them.  _ The thought pulled Magnus up short. He knew he could trust them, that they would never repeat it. The problem was fear, fear that somehow, someone would find out.

A tapping sound had Magnus, jumping. He looked up as he closed the door behind him, his grip on Cat’s sleeping form tightening as his heart pounded slightly faster. He did his best to banish the expression that wanted to crawl onto his face when he looked up into his father's eyes.

“What’s the matter, Magnus? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Asmodeus said, crossing the grand entrance hall when he saw his son practically sneaking in, in the early hours. He hadn’t done that since he was a young demon with his first crush. “Guilty conscience?” he chuckled.

“No, what do I have to feel guilty about?” Magnus bluffed, fixing his face as best as he could. “What are you doing up? It’s far too early for you to be awake?” he asked to distract his father from the question he had fired back, taking in the fact that his father was fully dressed.

“The question is, what are you doing?” Asmodeus asked, leaning lazily on his cane as his eyes bored into his son, wondering what was different about him. “Shouldn’t the small one be in bed? Where have you been?” he asked.

“Simon’s,” Magnus shrugged, trying to shrug off the shiver that ran down his spine at his father's appraisal. “And yes, she should be in bed, excuse me,” he said, skirting his father to head to his own wing of the house. He pulled up short when his father spoke.

“I won’t be here for the next two weeks, I will be visiting Eidol,” Asmodeus said to Magnus’ retreating back, a grin splitting his face when Magnus turned back to him. The grin faded when he saw the flash of Magnus’ eyes.

“Why?” Magnus asked, turning on his father and fighting to keep his voice low. His hand snaked up when Cat shuffled in her sleep, patting her back. She didn’t like Asmodeus and he would prefer it if she didn’t wake up. “What business do you have in Eidol?” he asked.

“Camille has kindly invited me to her realm. It’s been a long time since I visited there. Running a realm gets tiresome, so I think a vacation is in order. I will be staying with her then escorting her back here at the end of the two weeks,” Asmodeus said, turning away from Magnus.

“What you mean is, you are going to scope her realm out, aren’t you? You’re going to see what resources you can add to your own,” Magnus snapped, forgetting the sleeping child in his arms as his anger flared up. “You aren’t going there to relax, you’re going to hash out your agreement,” he said quietly as he bounced Cat in his arms.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Magnus,” Asmodeus said, turning back to his son. “Can one demon not offer another a break from the rigours of looking after an entire realm of subjects without it being for a specific reason?” he asked.

“Don’t give me that, Asmodeus, you forget that I know Camille better than anyone, and I know you don’t do anything without a reason,” Magnus hissed, fury rising at the expression on his fathers face, a look of wide-eyed innocence. Asmodeus was many things, innocent was not one of them.

“I am simply taking a break, for my health,” Asmodeus said, raising his eyebrow at Magnus’ tone.

“For your health? You want to be careful you don’t ingest any of her poison then,” Magnus said, turning his back on his father once more before pausing to look over his shoulder.

“Do as you will, but remember, Camille doesn’t stab you in the back, she looks you right in the eye as she plunges the blade into your chest,” Magnus said before turning his back on his father and striding away, heading once more for his own wing.

Magnus muttered at himself the entire way, trying to keep it down for Cat’s sake as anger spiked through him, again and again. He stalked into his room and lay Cat down on his bed, smiling briefly when she buried her face in his pillow and started snarling her snores out in earnest.

Magnus removed Alec’s tunic and tucked it around Cat before going to clean himself up, thought’s of Asmodeus’ plans and what it might mean for him swirling through his head.

One thought fought for ground above all others, something that had slipped his mind in the madness that had been the last few weeks. His next heat was due in just over two weeks. And both Asmodeus and Camille knew it.

**

Alec was already holding the sigh back when he spotted his sister sitting on his front step. His eyes narrowed when he saw what she was wearing. He eyeballed the thigh length white tunic and brown leather chest plate, along with the matching leather vambraces, leather shin guards and the fully loaded weapons belt she was sporting.

“Izzy, why are you dressed for patrol?” Alec asked when he landed, pulling her up when she raised her hand. He didn’t like the look on her face. He avoided her gaze as he let them into his home.

“A better question would be what are you wearing?” Izzy asked, following her brother through the door as she eyed the back of the brown leather tunic Alec was wearing. She watched as he spun on the spot, his eyes glued to his tunic.

“Save it, I know every piece of protective gear you own and that’s not yours,” Izzy said, raising a hand to cut Alec off, she could already see the lie forming on his lips, something he seemed to think he was getting good at lately.

“So? I’m trying something new, so what?” Alec mumbled, brushing Izzy off as he turned his back on her, his stomach flopping from the realisation that he was wearing Magnus’ tunic. He stopped when her hand landed on his shoulder, looking around to see her ‘take no prisoners’ look. “I need to get ready, I have patrol soon,” he said, raising his eyebrow until Izzy let go.

Izzy folded her arms across her chest as she watched Alec disappear down the hallway.  _ He’s been gone for two days, if he thinks he’s getting out of this, he can think again.  _ She was also trying to work out what the strange scent, hanging in the air in Alec’s wake,  was.  _ If I didn’t know any better, I would swear it was demon. _

Alec ducked into his washroom when he reached his room, washing quickly before he started digging for clothes. He shrugged his own white tunic on, desperately trying to think of a plausible excuse as he dressed.

There was only so much time Alec could spend pulling his vambraces on over his wrists and tying his sandals and shin guards in place, however. A deep sigh huffed out of him as he strapped his sword belt in place. He gripped the pommels of his Adamas blades as he backtracked down the hallway to face the music, wondering if he would need them.

“Let me guess, you asked for patrol duty?” Alec asked when he saw his sister, stood with her arms folded, watching his every move.

“Seem’s the only way I could actually spend any time with you,” Izzy fired back, following Alec out of the door. “So, care to tell me where you’ve been the past two days?” she asked, unfurling her own wings when Alec did.

“When did you become so invested in my life that you feel the need to know my whereabouts every minute of the day?” Alec deflected before he launched himself into the air, beating his wings hard.

“Drop it, I was busy,” Alec said when he saw Izzy’s face as she came up alongside him. He wasn’t in the mood for deflection and half-truths, sick and tired of lying already.  _ This is it now, this is what I have to look forward to, forever. This is what we both have to look forward to, Magnus has to live this life too. _

The thought had a snarl building in the back of Alec’s throat. His mate shouldn’t have to spend time crafting stories to appease those that care for him. Neither of them should have to.

“Alec, you know you can talk to me. Why are you shutting me out?” Izzy asked, watching the gamut of emotions that ran across her brother’s face. She could feel every single one of them in the marrow of her bones.

“Where’s Jace?” Alec asked, wishing his brother was there to deflect their sister’s questions.

“He has taken a leaf out of your book, disappearing every chance he gets. I guess Kayleigh is taking all of his time up,” Izzy said, scowling just at the thought of the woman.

Alec’s head snapped around at the tone Izzy had used, his wings faltering slightly when realisation struck.  _ She’s lonely. Jace disappearing for day’s at a time, weeks even, isn’t uncommon but she’s used to having me there. _

“So, it’s just you and me today?” Alec asked, purposefully lightening his tone to cheer her up. He grinned when he saw the smile on Izzy’s face, nudging her with his wing.

Izzy knew Alec was trying to distract her, from her questions and the loneliness that had crept in over the last couple of weeks. She set her eyes on the edge of the heavens, happy to let him think he had brushed her off.

_ He must have lost his mind if he thinks it ends here.  _

  
  



	13. A Collision of Fates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stick with me while we jump from pov to pov, this one is gonna get messy but there's a method to my madness. Hold onto your wigs, this is the one you've been waiting for!

  
  


Jace frowned when he landed outside his house. She was barely visible in the dark but he watched Izzy creep out from behind a bush, a little further down the path that led towards her and Alec’s homes. Her covert movements and the way she was glancing around had him scratching his head.

Forgetting about going inside to change out of his patrol gear, Jace followed her, jogging to catch up. He looked around himself, wondering what she was doing before he caught sight of Alec taking off. He jumped when Izzy did, beating his wings with one almighty flap to put a burst of speed on.

“What are you doing? And why are you dressed for patrol?” Jace asked when he reached Izzy, sniggering when she almost fell out of the air. “Doing something you shouldn’t be?” he asked.

“Jace! You asshole, what are you doing? You scared me,” Izzy almost yelped, her hands flapping as hard as her wings. Her eyes searched the dark horizon, speeding up a little when she saw the small flashes of silver in the distance.

“Where are we going?” Jace asked, keeping up with Izzy stroke for stroke.

“We? There is no we, go back to Kayleigh and leave me alone,” Izzy said, speeding up once more to try and shake Jace, a sigh escaping her when Jace didn’t leave.

“I wasn’t with Kayleigh, I was patrolling the third realm. So, why are we following Alec?” Jace asked, scanning the horizon himself. He frowned when Alec reached the edges of the realm.

“I knew it! He’s going to the mortal realm. Come on, hurry up before we lose him,” Izzy said, flying faster when Alec disappeared. A tug at her ankle had her looking back. “What? Come on, we’re going to lose him if he gets too far ahead.”

“Izzy, what are you doing? We shouldn’t be following him,” Jace said, his eyes darting around, to look anywhere other than at his sister.

“We’ve given him enough chances to tell us what’s going on, he’s keeping something to himself and been acting strangely for weeks. Aren’t you even just a little bit curious?” Izzy asked, frowning at the way Jace wouldn’t look at her.

“It doesn’t matter, it’s none of our business,” Jace said, panic starting to rear up as they neared the edge of the realm. He yanked at Izzy’s leg again when she flew ahead of him. “Come  _ back _ , we can’t follow him there,” he said.

“Can’t follow him there?” Izzy asked, yanking her leg from Jace’s grasp and turning on him. “I wouldn’t have to follow him if he would tell us the truth. He’s sneaking around. We were on patrol today and he barely even waited for me to leave before sneaking off again, he didn’t even get changed. He is going to the mortal realm, you know it’s off limits,” she said.

“Isabelle, stop!” Jace shouted when she darted ahead, following hot on her wings. “The mortal realm  _ is _ off limits, which is exactly why we should be avoiding it,” he cried, snarling when his sister ignored him.

“Whatever his reason is, he is in pain, Jace,” Izzy said, stopping in her tracks. “I know you can feel it. So I’m going, with or without you, he needs us,” she said before flinging herself from the edge of the heavens, scanning for her brother. A silver blur, far below her, had her putting on an extra burst of speed.

“Fuck!” Jace snarled before following Izzy, his stomach dropping faster than the rest of his body.

 

**

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Simon asked as Magnus all but shoved him towards the front door. “This place is too big for just the two of you, with your father out of the realm…”

“We will be just fine, Simon. Catarina needs her bath before bed, were both very tired,” Magnus said, pulling his best smile on for Simon as he pulled the door open. He almost groaned when he saw how dark it was, knowing that he was late. “Goodnight.”

“But… but…” Simon was cut off when the door was unceremoniously slammed in his face.  _ Bath and bed my ass, who spruces their hair and makeup up to go to bed? _

Magnus dashed down the hallways, back to his quarters to find Cat searching for something under the couch in their living room.

“I thought he was never going to leave. Catarina, what are you doing?” Magnus asked, pulling up short. “Come on, we have to go, we’re already late. What  _ are  _ you doing?”

“I can’t find my other sandal,” Cat said, pulling her head from beneath the couch and wiggling the toes of her bare left foot in Magnus’ direction.

“Just put your other ones on,” Magnus said, scooping up Cat’s brown leather sandals from by the door and almost launching them across the room.

“I don’t want to wear the brown ones, I want to wear the black ones,” Cat said, rolling her eyes at Magnus.  _ I’m not wearing brown sandals with purple clothes. _

_ “ _ Just put the brown ones on, look, there’s two of them,” Magnus said, practically jumping up and down in his haste to leave.

“I don’t  _ want  _ to wear them, I want to wear the black ones,” Cat said, darting past Magnus to check her room.

“Catarina, come on! We are already late, just put he fully matching, two shoes we already have on your feet and let’s go!” Magnus said, summoning the shoes from where they had landed and following after her.

“I am not wearing brown and purple together, you wouldn’t,” Cat called over her shoulder as she pulled open the box that held her shoes and started digging through the contents to search for her other black one.

“Just put them on! They will look fine,” Magnus begged, watching Cat fling random shoes all over the floor.

“No, I want to look nice… found it!” Cat yelled, holding her other sandal up in triumph. She blinked when it disappeared from her hand, looking down to see it welded to her foot. “Hey! That’s too tight,” she cried, yanking at the straps wrapped around her leg.

“Hey! Put me down!” Cat yelped when Magnus dashed forward and slung her over his shoulder. She started banging on his back, to no avail. “Magnus, my shoe is too tight,” she cried.

“I’ll fix it in a minute, let's just get going already,” Magnus said, half grumbling and half laughing at the weak attack on his back. He dashed through the hallways and practically ripped the front door off of its hinges in his haste.

“I can fly by myself,” Cat said petulantly when Magnus’ wings shot out of his back and butted her in the face.

“You can fly when we get to the mortal realm,” Magnus said, pulling Cat more securely as he took off. He snapped his fingers, righting her shoe and held her to him as he flew faster across the Edom skies, to the safe place where he made his portals, away from prying eyes.

“When do I get to learn how to make the portals?” Cat asked, pulling at Magnus’ ears to get his attention. She fitted the little cuff back in place when she accidentally pulled it off his ear.

“When you’re big enough not to poke your tongue out when you concentrate,” Magnus chuckled, eyeing the tongue poking out of her mouth, an inch from his eyeball. “It’s very complicated magic, not all demons are capable of it,” he said as he got ready to create the portal to the mortal realm.

“Why not?” Cat asked, turning to watch the fiery portal appear in thin air.

“Because portals usually need an anchor, this one crosses realms though, there’s nothing to anchor it to and you need to have been there in order to do it,” Magnus said, flying through the portal as soon as it was big enough, bursting out of the ground as he reached the other side and climbing through the air. “It is very difficult magic, little one, I’ll teach you when you’re older.”

_ I’m not a little kid,  _ Cat thought as she rolled her eyes. She blinked for a moment when she saw a shadow out the corner of her eye before dismissing it when the portal closed below them, turning her sights on the dark horizon, excited to see Alec.

 

**

 

Simon kept his glamour up, the glamour Cat had taught him, making him invisible, as he followed Magnus and Cat out of the portal Magnus had created.  _ Funny place to be taking Cat for a bath,  _ he thought sarcastically as he tried to keep them in sight. He looked back when the portal closed behind him,  _ no going back now! _

Simon’s curiosity got the better of him as he looked around, his eyes boggling at the large silhouettes of the trees below him, so different than those of Edom. He had never been to the mortal realm before. His eyes darted everywhere, trying to take it all in at once, there was so much to see, even in the weak light from the moon.

And that was his downfall.

“Shit! Where did they go?” Simon asked of nobody when he looked back to the skies to see that Magnus and Cat had disappeared. “Fuck! Great, now you’re lost in the mortal realm and you can’t even get back to Edom!” he scolded himself, scrubbing his hand through his hair as he stopped mid-flight and hovered.

Simon looked around in every direction, trying to think through the panic that was trying to take hold of him. Inspiration struck, his hand diving into his pockets to pull out all of the junk he carried around.

“Ha! You won’t get away that easily,” Simon muttered, shoving everything back in his pockets and keeping hold of the ribbon he found. He cast a tracking spell on the navy blue ribbon, laughing when he felt the pull. If he couldn’t follow Magnus, he would track Cat.

Simon gave himself over to the pull, flying fast in the direction it lead him. He watched the world pass beneath him, his eyes going even wider when the ribbon pulled him in the direction of the mountains that reared up before him.

Simon poured more magic into his spell, making it stronger as he looked around in confusion. He landed on the plateau of the mountain, looking around when he couldn’t see Cat or Magnus. He set off on foot when he continued to feel the pull, climbing over the rocky terrain. His eyes narrowed when it led him to a cave.

A shock of red hair brought him up short, his eyes so wide he could feel the wind on his eyeballs.

“Finally, where have you…? Simon?” Clary asked, skidding to a stop at the mouth of the cave, her own eyes widening when she saw her best friend staring at her. “Simon, what are you…?”

“What are you doing here? Are you tracking Magnus and Cat too?” Simon asked, cutting Clary off mid-question. He shook the ribbon, realising that the pull had stopped.

“Magnus and Cat? Sure, yeah, of course, I am,” Clary said, her heart pounding at the thought of Magnus, Cat and Simon all being there. “Oh, hey, I’ve been looking for that,” she said when she saw her ribbon in Simon’s hand, hoping to distract him. Her eyes darted around, searching the skies in her panic.

“Well, where are they?” Simon asked, looking around the darkened entrance to the cave, as though Magnus or Cat were going to jump out any minute. He stopped moving when Clary grabbed his wrist, stopping him from entering the cave properly.

“They’re not in there, I… I… lost them,” Clary said, pulling Simon away from the cave. Her panic deepened when Simon’s nostrils started flaring, her heart beating impossibly fast. “Why don’t we… go and see if we can find them?” she asked.  _ I need to get him away from here! _

“Sure, okay,” Simon answered, his brow furrowing at the scent coming from the cave. And Clary, she reeked of it. “What are you…?”

“We need something, of Magnus’,” Clary said as she rifled through Simon’s pockets, once more searching the skies as she pulled a handful of the ever-present junk out of his pockets. She snapped her fingers, producing a better light than the moon to inspect her haul.

“That’s his,” Simon said, pulling a silver ring out the pile of stuff in Clary’s hand. “I followed the ribbon, thinking it was Cat’s but this is definitely his,” he said, casting another tracking spell while Clary filled his pocket once more.

Simon felt the pull immediately, surprised at how close it was. He bent a knee and pushed off from the ground at once, beating his wings hard as he rose with Clary hot on his wings.

Clary kept her eyes peeled as she followed after Simon, her heart thundering in her chest as they soared over the mountain range. They flew over the top of the tallest mountain, a large valley appearing below them. Her heart almost stopped in her chest from the vision that met her eyes when she almost bumped into Simon as he stopped in front of her, driving all thoughts of her own problems from her mind.

“Is that… an angel?” Simon asked a split second before his brain caught up with his eyes and mouth. “Does Magnus not see him? He is flying right at him, come on!” he said, yanking the Edomite swords from either side of his hips as he flapped his wings.

“Simon, the angel has got Cat!” Clary almost yelped, drawing her own long and short swords as she took off after Simon.

 

**

 

“There’s still time to turn back,” Jace said, pulling at Izzy’s hand as he followed her, trying to look everywhere at once. “You know he’s gonna be pissed that we followed him,” he muttered, almost growling the words out.

“Go back if you want, I’m not going anywhere, he needs me,” Izzy said, shaking Jace’s tugging hand off. She kept Alec in her sights, speeding up a little when Alec passed over a larger mountain, to try and keep him in sight.

Izzy looked around when she and Jace cleared the mountain, looking down into a large valley with a large lake taking up half the floor and a large forest taking up most of the rest. She looked up when she heard the sharp intake of Jace’s breath.

“Demon!” Izzy breathed when she saw her brother flying straight at a demon, the creature’s dark wings catching her attention. “Why is he not pulling a weapon out?” she asked, uncurling her whips and taking off.

Izzy’s panic increased when she saw two more demons appear at the other the end of the valley. “Shit, there's another two of them! Come on, he needs us, he can’t take three of them on,” Izzy called over her shoulder,

 

**

 

“Alec! I missed you!” Cat yelled when Magnus flew within earshot of Alec. She shrugged out of Magnus’ grip when there was only twenty feet between them, her wings shooting out with a giggle when Alec held his arms out wide to her.

Magnus let Cat go, laughing when she dipped slightly before catching herself and flying right into Alec’s arms. His heart fluttered at the look of joy on Alec’s face as he caught her.

“I missed you too, little one,” Alec murmured, laughing as loudly as Magnus when Cat wrapped her body tightly around him, squeezing his neck. He looked to his mate as Magnus crossed the last of the distance between them, his grin fading and his stomach lurching when he saw two demons behind Magnus.

“Alexander, what is it?” Magnus asked when he saw Alec’s face drop. He took Cat in his arms when Alec all but threw her in his direction before Alec’s bow appeared in his hand as Alec tried to fly past him.

“Alexander, behind you,” Magnus yelled when a flash caught his eye, his heart pounding as he clutched Cat to him when she started to cry, seeing two angels in the distance closing on them fast with flashing weapons in hand.

The sight of the white wings had red pulses of magic sparking up and down Magnus’ free arm as he raised it, his need to protect Cat and Alec pushing past any logical thought and reducing him to base instinct.

Alec chanced a glance over his shoulder for a second when he heard the panic in Magnus’ voice, to see white wings in the distance, flying fast. His head whipped from side to side, a deep growl ripping from him as he realised the angels and demons were coming at them from both sides. He sent his bow away with a thought and drew the Adamas swords from the sheathes at his hips as he backtracked.

Alec tried to put himself between Magnus and Cat, and, as far as he was concerned, the enemies coming at them. He raised a sword on either side of his body when he felt his mate at his back, fighting down the anger and panic that was coursing through him to face them. The need to protect his family rose above all else.

“I don’t care what side you’re on, I will fucking end anyone that touches them,” Alec roared, trying his best to shield Magnus and Cat with his body as the two groups closed on them. He looked to the left and right when everyone stopped flying at them, everyone just hovering as they surrounded him and his mate and child.

“Alexander, that’s Clary and…” Magnus was cut off by an angry, desperate scream from his mate.

“Jace, stop!” Alec roared when he realised the angels were Jace and Izzy, his heart breaking, even as he raised his sword higher when his brother darted forward, his sister staring at him in shock. “Don’t do this please, don’t make me hurt you,” he screamed when Jace raised his own broadsword.

Jace paid no attention to his brother, or anyone else, pushing his confusion aside as he rocketed up, over Alec and the two demons Alec was trying to shield. He only saw one thing.

“Clary,” Jace yelled, almost colliding with Clary in his panicked desperation to reach her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her behind his back, snarling at the male demon with the brown hair and black eyes that darted forward with a snarl. The red magic licking up and down the demon’s blade had his snarl deepening, ripping from his throat with a guttural roar.

“Simon, no!” Clary screamed, dropping her short sword as she created a shield around her and Jace, tears stinging her eyes when Simon’s glowing sword struck the shield and her best friend was thrown backwards in a hail of blinding fire.

“What the fuck is going on?” Simon roared as he caught himself from falling, almost faltering as aftershocks ran through him. He tried to look around but all he saw was white, blinded from the collision of his magically infused sword and Clary’s shield.  _ Why the fuck is she protecting an angel? And why is Magnus hiding behind one? _

“Jace!” Izzy screamed, blinking her eyes to try and adjust her vision, trying to fly past Alec to get to Jace through the mass of rippling fire surrounding him. She backed away from the snarls that poured from Alec’s general direction, unable to see a thing.

“What the fuck? Izzy, get back,” Alec yelled, blinking to try and get his sight back. He aimed his sword in the direction of the vague shape that scent told him was his sister.

“Will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?” Simon yelled, trying to blink around at the vague shapes that surrounded him, raising a sword with one hand while trying to rub some vision back into his eyes with the other.

“Alexander, that is Simon and Clary,” Magnus said, flying closer to Alec by scent, too blind to see what was happening. “Shhh, it’s okay, little one,” he said, clutching Cat’s shaking body closer to him when she pulled her head out from his shoulder.

“It’s Clary and Simon and Jace and Izzy,” Cat said, looking around at the angels and demons that surrounded them, all of them rubbing their eyes and flailing their swords around. She had no problem seeing them all, having buried her face in Magnus’ neck when everyone had flown at them.

“Why is Jace trying to hide Clary behind him?” Cat asked, blinking up at Magnus’ friend and Alec’s brother above them as they groped for one another.

“I don’t know, Cat,” Alec said as his vision finally started to clear. He gripped Magnus’ shoulder, pulling his mate closer.

“Take Cat down to the cabin,” Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear, his eyes darting around in all directions, narrowing in confusion when he saw Jace above him, whispering to a red-headed demon.

“I’m not going anywhere without you,” Magnus replied, eyeing the weapon’s everyone still had raised.

“Clary, what are you doing? And you?” Simon asked in Magnus’ general direction as he stared at Clary, happily enduring the blonde angel’s inspection as the guy’s hands ran all over her body.

Simon’s eyes darted left to see Magnus and Cat whispering to another angel, tall with black hair. His brows furrowed when he remembered there was third one somewhere, spinning on the spot with his sword raised to look for it, he hadn’t got a good look at it, unsure if it was even a male or female.

“Simon, put that away!” Magnus called when he saw his friend swinging his sword in every direction. He looked over Alec’s shoulder to see a woman who looked a lot like Alec, hovering behind his mate with a look of deep confusion and mistrust marring her beautiful face.

“You must be Isabelle? Alexander told me how special you are but he didn’t say anything about your beauty,” Magnus said over Alec’s shoulder, smiling tentatively when she glared in his mate’s direction.

“That’s funny, he didn’t mention any demon to me,” Izzy said, shrugging the compliment off as she glared at Alec and the way he was practically wrapped around the demon that had addressed her. She blinked in confusion when she saw the little demon they had rescued, practically mashed between their bodies, waving shyly at her.

“Iz, put your whips away and I’ll introduce you,” Alec said, sheathing his own weapons, against his better judgement, needing to defuse the situation. Pretending him and Magnus weren’t together would be impossible after he had moved to defend Magnus and Cat. He breathed a sigh of relief when Izzy lowered her weapons, even if she didn’t put them away.

“Alexander, I think your… brother? Is mated to my friend,” Magnus said, tugging on Alec’s shoulder when he spotted the way clary was wrapped around a blonde angel, Clary and the angel, who he could only assume was Jace, watching everyone warily.

Alec looked away from his sister, glancing up to see what Magnus meant. His eyes widened at the way Jace was clutching the small, slim redhead to him as though someone was going to try and steal her. If they were mated, he couldn’t say he blamed Jace, he wanted to wrap himself around Magnus and Cat and drag them away from everyone else.

“It’s okay, that’s Magnus and the one who tried to fight you is Simon. Simon didn’t mean it,” Clary whispered quickly to Jace when she saw her mate staring at Magnus. “Well, he did but he thought you were trying to hurt me. Is that Alec?” she asked.

“Yes, and that’s Izzy,” Jace said, pointing his sister out to Clary. The unsure, confused expression on his silent sister’s face would have been funny if he wasn’t too busy trying to keep Clary from everyone’s gazes. He hadn’t seen Izzy this dumbstruck in about four centuries.

Alec’s eyes found Magnus again when he felt a tugging on his arm. He looked around once more before following when Magnus jerked his head in the direction of the valley floor, looking over his shoulder to see everyone following them, albeit at a distance as they all eyed each other warily.

_ This is going to be fun!  _ Alec thought with a roll of his eyes and a squeezing in his gut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 👀👀👀👀


	14. Secrets Revealed

 

“We have a surprise for you, Catarina,” Magnus said as he landed next to Alec and put her down, taking Cat’s hand.

 

“Look at Simon, I’ve never seen him so quiet,” Cat giggled, too busy watching the way Simon was staring at Clary and Jace as he flew towards the ground, at a distance from the others, to pay attention to Magnus. She watched in fascination as everyone landed, Simon, refusing to move closer, Clary and Jace clinging to each other and Izzy keeping her distance, glaring at her brothers.

 

Magnus snapped his fingers as he tugged Cat towards the cabin, a roaring fire, surrounded by several large, comfortable chairs appearing outside it instantly. He smiled when Cat let out a yelp when she saw the cabin in the firelight.

 

“What is that?” Cat screamed, yanking her hand free and dancing around Magnus and Alec when she saw the big wooden house. “Is this for us?” she asked, oblivious to the weapons everyone raised when she had screamed.

 

“Yes, it’s for us,” Alec chuckled, unable to help himself when he saw Cat’s excitement, it was infectious. He looked up when he heard approaching footsteps to see Izzy coming at him. He almost hid behind Magnus when he saw the fire in her eyes, unsure if it was a reflection or her anger.

 

“Oh shit, here we go,” Jace muttered when he saw Izzy go for Alec. He would have stepped in but for one thing, he was still jittery about letting Clary out of his sight and for another, if Izzy was mad at Alec, she wasn’t aiming her ire at him.

 

“This place is for you is it?” Izzy asked when she closed on Alec, almost snarling at him. “This place in the mortal realm, with two demons? What, you’re going to play happy families? I’ve been begging you for decades, for centuries! to settle down, to find your mate and you do this instead? And you lie about it?” she shouted.

 

“Iz, this is my ma…”

 

“Have you lost your damn mind? You know what will happen to you if anyone finds out you’re seeing a demon,” Izzy shrieked, cutting Alec’s protests off. “You have been miserable for weeks! I felt so bad for you, I wanted to help you and all this time you’ve been sneaking off! For what, some dalliance that will end with you banished?” she yelled at her brother. A shuffling sound to her left had her rounding on Jace.

 

“And what about you? What the fuck are you doing? You look like you’re about to fight us to the death. Is this where you have been for the last week? Chasing a demon around the mortal realm? Both of you lied to me and left me alone, risking your lives!” Izzy shrieked at Jace, ignoring the way he shoved the redhead behind him, she was too busy chewing her brothers out to start on the demons they were shoving behind them.

 

“Both of you risked leaving me alone for the rest of my existence! For what?” Izzy shouted as her head whipped from Jace’s direction to Alec’s and back again, dashing the angry tears away that wouldn’t quit falling “You selfish pair of bastards, you risked leaving me alone, for eternity, for a fumble?” she cried, shaking with grief and anger as she looked around at them all staring at her. 

 

“What are you looking at?” Izzy shouted at the brown haired male demon when he approached her with his mouth hanging wide open, his black eyes glued to her.  _ His… his... beautiful black eyes,  _ she thought as she stared into them, completely forgetting what she was yelling about now that she got a good look at him in the light from the fire.

 

Simon just gaped at the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. He stared at her deep chocolate eyes and her thick, long black hair, wondering if it would feel as soft and silky as it looked, her beautiful wings.  _ She is magnificent,  _ he thought, watching the righteous anger melt off her stunning face, as she stared right back at him.

 

“Don’t cry, please don’t cry,” Simon said when he saw the tracks of tears on the angel’s face in the firelight. He crept closer, almost having a heart attack when the wind changed and he caught her scent. It brought him to his knees at her feet when the scent of orange blossom and Omega invaded his brain.  _ My Omega. My wingmate. _

 

Izzy stared down at the man before her, completely speechless as he stared back up at her. Her brain had short-circuited when his scent had hit her, orange blossom and Alpha, the perfect compliment to her own scent.  _ My Alpha.  _ She thought as more tears fell.

 

Izzy reached out, her hand moving of its own accord as her fingers brushed through the man’s thick brown hair.  _ He is beautiful.  _ It was all her flailing brain could come up with, her eyes flicking from the dark brown eyes to the full lips, to the laugh lines around his eyes and the cutest dimples she had ever seen.

 

Cat pulled her hand out of Magnus’ loose grasp, almost laughing at the stupid, open-mouthed expressions on all of the adult's faces as they stared at Izzy and Simon. She darted forward, taking Izzy’s hand.

 

“Izzy, this is Simon,” Cat said, tugging at Izzy’s hand, trying and failing to get her attention. “Simon, that’s Izzy. She’s pretty, isn’t she?” she whispered in Simon’s ear, giggling at the way he nodded his head, almost bouncing it off of his shoulders.

 

“She is beautiful,” Simon murmured, staring at the woman’s full lips when they curved up slightly at the sides, revealing a row of perfect teeth. His eyes moved over the rest of her, catching once again on the rose-gold marbled white wings. He had always associated white wings with danger and death. Now all he wanted to do was wrap himself up in them.

 

More tears came as realisation hit Izzy, the same realisation hitting her mate. Her wings were white and her mate’s stunning wings were black. Her eyes flicked from his crumbling face to his beautiful black and titanium wings and back to his face. 

 

It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to Izzy when she let go of Cat’s hand and wrapped her arms around Simon’s head as he sagged into her, his tear-stained face pressing into her stomach and arms wrapping around the back of her thighs, his tears falling as fast as her own.

 

Cat let go of Izzy’s hand, watching everyone else as she made her way back to Alec and Magnus. She felt bad when she saw Clary’s tears, Jace’s eyes boggling out of his face, Magnus’ gaping face as he stared but Alec’s worried expression had her jumping at him. 

 

“Why are you sad?” Cat asked when Alec caught her, wrapping her arms around his neck as she buried her face in his scent glands. She didn’t like it when Alec was upset.

 

“Because this is a hard life, little one, and I don’t want that for my sister,” Alec said honestly as he held Cat closer. He felt his heart break as he watched Izzy silently stroke her hand through the demon’s hair. He looked up to see that Jace felt the same way, his brother catching his eye. “I don’t want it for either of them.”

 

Jace took Clary’s hand when Alec jerked his head, skirting his sister and the demon wrapped around her as he led his mate to meet his brother. He felt just as bad for Alec as he did for Izzy, that they both had to suffer this half-existence that he and Clary had been thrown into.

 

“Jace, this is Magnus, my mate,” Alec said when Jace joined him. He tried not to stare at the way Jace held the redhead to him, as though she were Jace’s entire existence and he had to protect her. The feeling was all too familiar. “Magnus, this is Jace,” he said.

 

“It’s nice to meet you, Jace. Alexander has told me a lot about you,” Magnus said, taking the hand Jace held out.  _ It’s nice to finally put a face to the name,  _ he thought as he gripped Jace’s hand.  _ It would be even nicer if it were under better circumstances! _

 

“Don’t listen to any of it,” Jace joked, taking in the man that was mated to his brother.  _ Would be mated to him, if it were allowed. “ _ And Likewise, Clary has told me all about you, and Simon,” Jace said, his eyes flitting to Izzy and the demon at her feet. His eyes flitted back to Magnus, watching the way he moved with Alec. He had a feeling he and Magnus would get along well enough _. _

 

“Hi, Alec, I’m Clary, It’s nice to meet you,” Clary said, holding her hand out to the angel.  _ Magnus’ mate. No wonder he's been acting so odd!  _ “I should have known. I should have figured it out, that Magnus had met his mate, I've just been a little preoccupied since Jace and I met.”

 

“So, how did this happen?” Alec asked, gesturing between Jace and Clary. To say that he was curious would be an understatement. He didn’t miss the way Clary’s eyes were darting between him and Magnus, her eyes glowing slightly when her gaze landed on him again, watching the way Cat snuggled closer into his neck. It had his arms tightening for one irrational second.

 

Clary had to smile when Alec’s arms tightened, a tight smile that stretched almost unnaturally across her face. They already looked like a family. It had her heart soaring and breaking all in the same breath, reaching out to squeeze Magnus’ arm.

 

“Let's all sit down, shall we?” Magnus asked, squeezing back before gesturing to the chairs, he wanted to get comfy for this.

 

“Sure, give me a moment,” Alec said, giving Magnus’ hand a squeeze and handing Cat over to him before making his way over to his sister.

 

“Izzy, come and sit with us,” Alec said, his hand finding Izzy's while his eyes found her mate.  _ Mate! My sister finally has a mate after all these centuries, and he's a demon.  _ The unfairness of the situation had a growl building in his chest.

 

“Stop growling, he won't hurt me,” Izzy said, raising an eyebrow at the noise her brother was making. She wasn't quite sure how she knew that but an innate trust has sparked in her. She couldn't imagine hurting Simon, or indeed, being hurt by him.

 

“Yes he will, and you will hurt him. Not intentionally, but the wound will cut a little deeper every time you have to say goodbye to each other,” Alec said, not unkindly. He already hated that his sweet sister would have to say goodbye.

 

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Simon said, looking up at his mate. He took her hand when she offered it, shuddering as his hand slid into hers, already knowing that he never wanted to let go as she pulled him to his feet. He wanted to know everything about her, wanted to spend every day of his existence learning his mate.

 

“You already feel it, don’t you? That pull. That voice that tells you not to let go, to keep your mate close and protect her from everything that will ever hurt her,” Alec asked, his eyes wandering to Magnus. “You already hate the very second when you will have to say goodbye and look forward to the one where you get to say hello again.”

 

Izzy stared at her brother, seeing the tension in his face as he looked at the demon he had been trying to protect earlier.  _ His mate, the one I called a dalliance, a fumble unworthy of the punishment he would face if anyone found out.  _

 

“Alec, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know,” Izzy said, gesturing to the demon when Alec turned back to her. She threw her arms around Alec’s neck when she saw the tears swimming in his eyes. “What’s his name?” she asked. Meeting her mate had pushed everything else out of her mind.

 

“Magnus, he is everything, Iz,” Alec whispered, holding his sister to him for a moment. He let her go and dashed away the tears that threatened to fall, seeing Izzy do the same before turning to Simon.

 

“I’m Alec, Izzy’s brother,” Alec said, holding his hand out to the demon. He knew he didn’t need to threaten the man. The thought of hurting Magnus in any way was abhorrent to him and Simon already looked at his sister like the sun rose and set on her.

 

“It’s nice to meet you. So, you’re mated to Magnus? That’s awesome. Well, not awesome, it sucks. Because you can’t be together. But I’m glad he has a mate, he deserves it. So yeah, I’m Simon, I’m Magnus’ friend. And Clary’s. She’s mated to that blonde one, isn’t she? I thought it was odd that she wanted to protect him, but I guess I understand why now,” Simon said, barely drawing in breath in his haste to make a good impression on the angel, his mate’s brother.

 

Alec stared at the demon. When Magnus had said that Simon talks a lot, he wasn’t kidding. He was secretly glad that Magnus was his mate and not this one. Although, if Magnus wanted to talk all day and night, he would happily listen to every word.

 

Izzy squeezed Simon’s and when she saw how nervous he was.  _ So fucking adorable!  _ She thought, grinning at him. She tugged him toward the circle of chairs around the fire, letting Simon and Alec follow in her wake as she made a beeline for Magnus.

 

“Magnus? I’m sorry for what I said. I was just sad and pissed. But I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said those things, I didn’t understand,” Izzy said, a hopeful smile pulling at her face that the demon would forgive her.

 

“Please, don’t worry about it, dear, I understand. You were scared for your brother, for both of them. It is understandable,” Magnus said, holding his hand out to shake hands with Izzy. The smile he wore widened when Izzy ignored the hand and pulled him into a hug.

 

“I was still wrong. I understand now. It's terrifying,” Izzy said, thinking about what being mated to a demon would mean for her. The conversations she had had with Alec over the last few weeks all made sense now.  _ It’s not the happiness and rainbows I was always expecting. _

 

Alec elbowed his sister out of the way and took Magnus’ hand in his to take a seat. As glad as he was that Izzy and Magnus seemed to be getting along, he had spent an entire day away from Magnus and that was entirely far too long, as far as he was concerned.

 

Magnus happily sat next to Alec, practically welding himself to his Alpha’s side as everyone took their seats, the other couples sitting just as close to one another as he and Alec were. He chucked his finger under Cat’s chin when she climbed onto Alec’s lap and curled into his chest.

 

“So, how did you two meet?” Alec asked Jace and Clary, tightening his arm around Cat as his other hand found Magnus’, smiling when Magnus interlocked their fingers, their hands coming to rest in Magnus’ lap.

 

Jace looked to Clary, seeing the shrug of her shoulders before he looked around at them all, everyone watching them intently.  _ Probably best to start at the beginning. _

 

“I um… I followed you, to the mortal realm,” Jace said, sighing when he saw Alec’s eyebrow rise. “I was coming off patrol one night, just over a week ago and saw you flying towards the edge of the heavens. You looked far too suspicious and I thought maybe you were going looking for Cat.”

 

“Cat? You thought I was coming here to look for Cat?” Alec asked, exchanging a look with Magnus before his eyes found Izzy. “I would have thought if anyone would have followed me, it would be Izzy,” he said, grinning when Izzy stuck her tongue out at him.

 

“You told us you knew of somewhere you could take Cat where she wouldn’t be any trouble. I was happy to accept your word until I saw you sneaking off. I thought maybe you had her stashed away here and was coming to feed her or something,” Jace said with a shrug.

 

“Hey, I’m not a pet that he had to feed and water,” Cat said indignantly, scowling when everyone laughed.  _ It’s not funny. _

 

“I’m sure he didn’t mean it like that, little one,” Magnus chuckled, kissing Cat’s cheek when she sulked unto Alec’s neck.

 

“No, Cat, I didn’t mean it like that,” Jace assured the little demon, a small smile quirking his lips up when she scowled. “I just thought it was suspicious. Alec was always the responsible one. Izzy and I knew he was hiding something. I guess my curiosity got the best of me so I followed you,” he said to Alec.

 

“I followed at a distance, flying low over the mountains when I came across the scent,” Jace said, once again looking to his mate, a corresponding smile tugging at his mouth when she beamed at him. “I almost fell out of the air when the sent of lotus flowers hit me, lotus flower and Omega. It was like nothing else. I stopped thinking, forgot all about following you and hunted the source of the scent instead.”

 

“And what were you doing in the mortal realm?” Magnus asked Clary, sniggering when she literally had to rip her gaze away from Jace.  _ Those are moon eyes if ever I saw them!  _ He felt as awful for Clary as he did for Simon but both of them looked like they had found their places in the universe and he couldn’t think of two people that deserved that more.

 

“Did you really expect me to accept that weak ass explanation of how you found Cat? Magnus, come on, you “found her wandering the mortal realm”? Sure, okay,” Clary said with a roll of her eyes, catching Simon’s eye on the backswing. “Don’t look at me like that, Simon. You were just as curious,” she muttered.

 

“So, I still waited for Magnus to tell me himself,” Simon shrugged, happily throwing Clary to the wolves.

 

“Sure, “hey, are you tracking Magnus and Cat too”?” Clary imitated Simon’s earlier question. “Fine! I followed you, Magnus. You can’t just get to turn up with a little girl and tell us that you found her, and expect me not to snoop. I wanted to see where you really got her from,” She said.

 

“And that’s how you found Jace?” Izzy asked, her eyes glowing from the content look on Jace’s face and the way his arm was wrapped around Clary’s shoulders, his fingers skimming up and down her arm.

 

“Your sister looks like she’s listening to the greatest love story ever told,” Magnus whispered to Alec, grinning at the way Izzy sat, nestled into Simon’s side with the most adoring look on her face as she propped her chin on her fist, watching Jace’s every move.

 

“She tries to pretend she isn’t a romantic at heart, nobody believes her for that exact reason,” Alec murmured.

 

“I followed Magnus to these mountain’s before I lost him. The wind had stopped so I couldn’t find him by scent so I landed and searched around on foot through the caves on the other side of this peak,” Clary said, gesturing in the direction they had come from earlier. “Once the wind picked back up, I took off, only to land again when Jace’s scent hit me, lotus flower and Alpha.”

 

“I found her standing outside a cave, she was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. She stunned me, I could barely speak to introduce myself,” Jace said, staring into Clary’s gorgeous red eyes. Eyes he would never have considered anything but dangerous until he had met his mate.

 

“You must be special if you managed to turn Jace into a mute,” Alec chuckled, winking at Izzy when she burst out laughing.

 

“Izzy’s special too. Simon hasn’t stopped talking since I met him, now he can’t even make a whole sentence come out,” Cat giggled, blowing a kiss in Simon’s direction when he mock scowled at her. 

 

“Alec, you never told me how you met Magnus,” Cat gasped, spinning around in Alec’s lap and grabbing hold of Alec’s cheeks to make him look at her. “Tell us, tell us how you met! Pleeeease?” she asked. She could tell the others wanted to know too

 

“Okay! Calm down,” Alec chuckled at the way Cat was bouncing in his lap. He thought about the moment he had met Magnus. 

 

“I was flying over these mountains, minding my own business when I flew out of the clouds and saw a madman, falling from the sky in a death spiral that almost stopped my heart!” Alec said, his eyes finding Magnus and taking his hand once more.

 

“He was terrifying and spectacular and he took my breath away. I tried to fight him when I realised he was a demon. We flew straight at each other with our swords raised,” Alec said, letting Cat bury her head in his neck when he saw her wide-eyed stare.

 

“It’s okay, little one, we didn’t hurt each other,” Magnus said, reaching out to stroke Cat’s hair back when she turned, in the crook of Alec’s shoulder, to look at him. “One look into each other's eyes and we each knew that we had found the other half of ourselves. It was sad and beautiful but we had found each other,” he said.

 

“It was?” Cat asked, staring into Magnus’ eyes when he nodded, smiling his best smile, the one with the teeth. “Then what happened?” she asked, poking her head out from Alec’s shoulder.

 

“Then we danced,” Magnus said with a gleam in his eye, deciding to leave out the sad parts, she didn’t need to hear those. “Alexander showed me his best moves and I showed him mine. We flew through the air and danced in the clouds. It was magical,” he said.

 

“That’s so romantic!” Cat gushed, sighing as she stared Alec and Magnus when Magnus raised their joined hands and kissed Alec’s knuckles. She looked around at Simon and Izzy, Clary and Jace, seeing their nods of agreement.  _ I can’t wait until I’m big and I meet my mate! _

 

“What are you doing, little one?” Magnus asked, his eyebrows furrowed when Cat started sniffing her arms and hands. He could see his own confusion mirrored on his mate’s face.

 

“I’m trying to see what I smell like, so I will know who my mate is when I’m bigger!” Cat said, trying to bend her head to sniff at her own neck.  _ Magnus and Alec’s necks always smell so nice, like safety and love and home! _

 

“Right now, you smell of Magnus and demon,” Alec chuckled, holding Cat closer and snuffling at her neck, grinning when she screamed and batted at his head. “But, when you’re older, and you present as an Alpha, a Beta or an Omega, your scent will change. You will develop scent glands and only then will you be able to find your mate. And not before!” he said sternly.

 

“What’s a Alpha and a Omega and a Beta?” Cat asked Alec, looking around at all of the other adults when they all laughed, everyone staring at Alec’s red face.

 

“Oh no, this one’s on you. I already had the mating talk with her,” Magnus grinned when Alec looked to him with pleading eyes, silently thinking that he had gotten the lesser of two evils. He winked at Izzy when she roared with laughter as Alec started stuttering. 

 

Magnus shook his head in Clary’s direction when he saw that she was going to come to Alec’s rescue. He wanted to see what his mate had to say on the subject and Alec wasn’t getting out of this one.

 

Alec glared around at them all, every person there already hanging off the words that didn’t want to come. He looked down at Cat, seeing the curiosity on her innocent face. He wanted nothing more than to put the conversation off for another eight-ten years, until she presented but he already knew Cat, and there was no way he was getting out of it.

 

“When you turn eighteen, your body will go through some changes,” Alec started out, testing the waters. He could feel the heat in his cheeks as she turned in his lap, giving him her undivided attention.

 

“You will present as one of the three. If you are an Alpha, you will be mated to an Omega or a Beta. You will be very protective of your mate, possibly physically stronger and you… you will be able… you…” Alec begged the others with his eyes, begging them not to make him say it. He took a deep breath when none of the traitors were forthcoming.

 

“You will be able to get your mate pregnant,” Alec rushed out, his head pounding with embarrassment, before getting the next part out. “If you are a Beta, there won’t really be many changes, you will develop the scent glands, but that’s about it. If you are an Omega, you will get the scent glands and… and… become more… fertile, and you will go into… heat,” he muttered before sealing his lips up.

 

“What’s a heat?” Cat asked, unknowingly showing no mercy. She thought the way Alec’s cheeks were glowing was adorable but she didn’t see what was so embarrassing. She went when Magnus tugged her onto his lap.

 

“A heat is your body’s way of telling you that you are ready to have babies,” Magnus said, taking pity on his Alpha. He couldn’t help but grin when Alec breathed his thanks in his direction, before turning back to Cat. “Only Omega’s have heats. I am an Omega, so is Clary.”

 

“And me,” Izzy chirped in when she stopped laughing at Alec’s blaring cheeks and the death glare he was aiming at them all, daring them to say something.

 

“So that means that you are going to have a baby?” Cat asked, staring up into Magnus’ eyes before her eyes darted down to his belly and back up again. “I didn’t know boys can have babies too.”

 

“Omegas can have babies, if they spend their heats with their Alpha’s,” Magnus said quietly, unconsciously rubbing his hand over his stomach, trying to soothe the ache that had sprung up in the pit of it.

 

Alec swallowed the lump in his throat down as he took Magnus’ hand, gripping it tightly. Ideally, he would spend Magnus’ heat with him, one of the highlights of being mated, for him at least. Maybe not so for Magnus but that was what he was there for, to help Magnus, to look after him and help him through it. He knew they couldn’t risk it though.

 

“Why don’t you go and explore, little one?” Alec asked when he saw his sadness mirrored on Magnus’ face, knowing they needed to talk about it. He raised an eyebrow when Cat gave him a look that said all too clearly that she knew what he was doing before she sighed and climbed off of Magnus’ lap.

 

“When is your next heat due?” Alec asked quietly when Cat jumped into the air and took off to explore the cabin. Maybe it wasn't the place to hold the conversation, surrounded by their friends and family but the others would have to have the conversation, the same as he and Magnus had to.

 

“In two weeks,” Magnus said, his chest deflating right along with Alec’s. He wanted nothing more than to spend it with his Alpha. It would be the first heat he would have spent with an Alpha and it should have been something amazing. Instead, it would just be another three-day torture session, trying to get through it on his own. 

 

“They last for three days, every three months. We can’t see each other, we can’t risk me getting pregnant,” Magnus said, sighing when Alec nodded. He could see his own disappointment on Alec’s face. He looked over to Clary, seeing the disappointment in her eyes too.

 

“Magnus and I always go into heat at the same time,” Clary said, looking up at Jace. She could tell he was just as uncomfortable as the others about discussing it with the group but they had to talk about it sometime.

 

“Mine is next week. I can already feel it coming,” Izzy said. She didn’t feel embarrassed talking about it but she had only just found Simon and she was already having to think about what her life would be like with no children, no family of her own.

 

“There’s something you need to know, something that I completely forgot about, what with everything that has happened over the last few weeks,” Magnus said quietly. He didn’t want to tell him, but he also didn’t want to keep secrets from his mate so he took a deep breath to get the words out. 

 

“Camille will be in Edom while I am in heat. If I didn’t know any better, I would swear that she and my father had planned it,” Magnus said, wanting to bury his face in Alec’s neck, the way Cat had earlier. 

 

“Camille will be near you while you are in heat?” Alec asked, forcing the words to come out in something that didn’t resemble the growl that was already building in his chest when Magnus looked up at him and nodded.

 

“They probably planned it, hoping my heat would drive me to take her as my Alpha,” Magnus muttered. He and Camille had been seeing each other on and off for centuries. His heats were as regular as the rising sun and she knew exactly when they were due. _ I wouldn’t put it past either of them to pull such a stunt. _

 

“I could be in heat for 100 years, I still wouldn’t take her as my mate. Luckily, my heat only lasts three days,” Magnus said, thanking his lucky stars they weren’t any longer. “I just have to avoid her for three days,” he said, already planning the spells he would use to lock himself away.

 

“That’s a cheap shot,” Alec growled, pulling Magnus onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him. As irrational as it was, he wanted to growl  _ mine!  _ And rub his scent all over his mate, wanted to pluck every single one of his feathers out and insert them into Magnus’ wings, staking his claim. He wasn’t a caveman, however, so he settled for holding Magnus to him. “I already hate this bitch,” he admitted.

 

“Who is this Camille? Maybe I should pay her a little visit, talk to her woman to woman?” Izzy asked, ready to pull her whips out when she saw how distressed Alec and Magnus were, as much as they each tried to hide it from each other.

 

“She is Magnus’ raging bitch of an ex. Camille is a vulture, she will pick at anything with a pulse,” Simon answered, feeling awful for his friend. He looked up when Clary started muttering under her breath. It was no secret that they both hated her. 

 

“Believe me, Alexander, nobody hates her as much as I do,” Magnus said, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck. “She made my life a misery and I took her back every time,” Magnus said, shaking his head at his own weak stupidity. He looked up when Alec cupped his cheek, staring into Alec’s eyes.

 

“Did you love her?” Alec asked, seeing the self-depreciation stamped all over Magnus’ face and not liking it one bit.

 

“Yes, more than she loved me. I was too weak to give her up, for too long,” Magnus said with a deep sigh.

 

“It doesn’t make you weak to love someone, Magnus. You took her back because you loved her. If she took advantage of that, then that makes her the weak one. She threw away the best thing she had. She was obviously a fool,” Alec said, pressing his lips to Magnus’ forehead.

 

“Threw it away? She dragged it through the dirt and stamped all over it, again and again. It would be good, for a while, then she would make snide remarks and act out and make me think it was my own fault or leave with no warning or cheat on me. And I took it,” Magnus said, his eyes closing from the sensation of Alec’s skin on his.

 

“What made you finally get rid of her?” Alec asked, trying to breathe, to calm the glowing of his runes through the anger that was flooding him.

 

“She tried to goad me after an argument, tried to make me jealous,” Magnus said, his distaste clear on his face as memories rose up. “She wanted me to move to her realm but I had already started to realise it was never going to work between us. She isn’t the kind of person to fall in love, she saw me as her possession, I think. She tried to make me jealous by kissing Simon in front of me,” he said, rolling his eyes.

 

“Simon? Did you…? Alec started, staring at Magnus’ friend. He cut off when he saw the look of disgust on Simon’s face and the slow, angry shake of his head as everyone turned to him.

 

“Never, she is vile,” Simon muttered, pulling Izzy closer to him when she looked up at him with clear anger on her face. He liked the way Izzy felt, pressed against him. Nothing like the crawling sensation that the mere thought of Camille brought on.

 

“No, he hates her too, he and Clary hated her since the day I introduced them all. He shoved her away in disgust. She thought it was hilarious,” Magnus said, shaking his head at how manipulative and controlling Camille was and how he had been too blindly in love with her to see it.

 

“You’re much better off without her by the sounds of it,” those were the words Alec said, not the ones he was thinking. He was silently wondering how easy it would be to get in and out of her realm without anyone else noticing.

 

“Of course I am, I have you,” Magnus said with a grin, pushing thoughts of Camille out of his mind. There was no comparison, Camille and Alec were like night and day.  _ I know who I would rather spend my eternity with! _

 

“Always,” Alec said, pressing his lips to Magnus’ neck with a quick kiss. “Are you sure you can avoid her? Because I will personally stand outside your door and kick her ass out of the realm if she even tries to get close to you,” he said, ignoring the fact that he could do no such thing.

 

“I can take care of myself, and her. Please don’t worry about her, Alexander,” Magnus said, imagining Alec standing guard outside of his door with a chuckle. As much as he would love to see his Alpha handing Camille her ass, he knew Alec couldn’t be there.

 

“Trust me, that bitch won’t get anywhere near him,” Simon assured Alec, already knowing what spells he would be using and adding a few more to the list for extra security. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had to keep her away while Magnus was in heat,” he said.

 

“You will be there too?” Alec asked, not quite sure if that made him feel better or worse. On one hand, any extra protection for his mate was more than he could ask for, on the other, it meant another Alpha near his mate, at Magnus’ most vulnerable time, while he couldn’t be there himself.

 

“I promise you, there is nothing to worry about,” Simon said with a tight smile. “I’ve done it more times than I can count. Aside from the fact that Magnus’ scent doesn’t tempt me like that when he’s in heat, we have a system worked out with a list of spells as long as my arm,” he said.

 

“What kind of spells do you use? How can you be sure you can keep her away?” Jace asked curiously, wondering how they could be so sure that nobody would come for his brother’s mate. He knew that angels didn’t just turn into mindless slaves to their urges whilst close to an Omega in heat, even if they smelled nicer than usual. But he didn’t know what it was like for demons.

 

“I might not know Magnus very well but the thought of someone, especially this Camille, trying to trick him into mating them is disgusting,” Jace said when everyone turned to him with surprise, mainly his brother and sister.  _ Anyone would think I’m some heartless monster. _

 

“Wards, protection spells, seeling spells on the exits, spells to contain the scent,” Clary said, rattling the list off. “Spells to lock other scents out, spells to distract and confuse unwanted guests. There are a lot. Most demons use a combination of them, depending on what they need,” she said.  _ Magnus has used them all. _

 

“We don’t turn into jibbering idiots that hunt each other down when we scent an Omega in heat if that’s what you’re implying,” Simon said indignantly when he saw the way Jace was eyeing him. “Contrary to what angels may believe, not all demons are monsters, just like not all angels are saints,” he said.

 

“I wasn’t implying anything, I was just asking,” Jace huffed in irritation. Alec wasn’t the only one with a mate to worry about. “No offence to you Magnus but who is going to be protecting Clary while Simon is protecting you?” he asked.

 

“Nobody needs to protect me, I assure you, I’m more than capable of looking after myself,” Clary said, rolling her eyes at her mate. She caught Izzy’s eye, grinning when Izzy rolled her eyes too. She liked the angel.  _ Now there’s something I never thought I would admit to myself. I like that she is a total badass who doesn’t put up with anyone's shit... if earlier on is anything to go by. _

 

“I’m sure you can. I’m still allowed to worry. You would be worried about me if it was the other way round... if it was me going into heat and you weren’t able to be with me,” Jace said petulantly.

 

“I promise you, I will take care of myself. My magic is strong and I know a lot of spells,” Clary said, softening her tone when she realised Jace wasn’t talking down to her as an Alpha, but speaking as a worried mate.

 

“Clary is more than welcome to spend a few days in my quarters, if it will put your mind at ease, Jace,” Magnus offered. It wasn’t something that he had really thought of before but then again, none of them had been through a heat knowing that their mate was out there before.

 

“Her scent doesn't attract me either,” Simon said, raising an eyebrow when Jace pulled Clary onto his lap and glared at them all, especially him. “Both of them will be safe with me,” he said.

 

Magnus looked up when he heard a flapping of wings above them to see that Cat had decided that she had made herself scarce long enough.

 

“I’m tired and I’ve stared at those logs long enough,” Cat said around a huge yawn when she landed. She climbed onto Alec’s lap when Magnus got up and made room for her, snuggling into his chest.

 

“Why don’t you have a sleep while we talk some more, hm?” Alec asked, his arms automatically wrapping around Cat as he started to rock her in his lap.

 

Izzy couldn’t take her eyes off Alec. She had been surprised to see the child, wedged in between her brother and Magnus earlier on but that was nothing compared to her surprise at how comfortable Alec seemed to be with her. It had her heart fluttering, watching him talk to her quietly, across the fire.

 

“They look like a family, don’t they?” Simon asked his mate, watching Magnus brush Cat’s hair back and fuss over her with a blanket he had produced. He turned to Izzy when she moved a little closer. “I think we need to talk, about being mate’s,” he said, tentatively wrapping an arm around Izzy as her scent once again permeated the air around them.

 

“Yes, they do,” Izzy said, watching for a moment more before looking up at Simon. “I know it will be hard but I spent too long waiting for you to come along. We can make it work, somehow. The others have,” she said, pointing to her brothers and their mates. She smiled when Simon agreed. She didn’t know how yet, but they would.

 

“I like the idea of a cabin, the cave is nice but it’s drafty. Do you think Magnus and Alec would mind if we built one here too?” Clary asked as he shuffled in Jace’s lap. They hadn’t been to this valley, barely making it out of their cave whenever they got the chance to meet up.

 

“I can’t see why it would be a problem. It’s nice here from what I can see,” Jace said, letting his thumbs play over Clary’s hip bone as he looked out over the lake. 

 

“It’s quiet and the mortals wouldn’t find it so easy to stumble upon us,” Clary said, wondering if that was why Magnus and Alec had picked it. She looked over at her friend, talking quietly to his mate, happy that Magnus had found someone, even if they were in the same boat as her and Jace.

 

“Would you think any less of me if I told you I’m glad they’re in the same position as us?” Magnus asked when Cat drifted off in Alec’s arms. “Don’t get me wrong, I wish they didn’t have to suffer the knowledge that they can never mate, I’m just glad that we will be able to talk to them, share experiences,” he said when Alec looked around at him.

 

“No, it doesn’t make you a bad person. We’ve had to tell so many lies to those we love. While I wouldn’t wish this fate on any of them, it’s a relief not to have to hide anymore, to have others that understand what we are going through,” Alec said quietly, understanding at once where Magnus was coming from. It would be nice not having to lie right to Jace and Izzy’s face anymore.

 

“I felt so bad for your sister before, when she was upset about the lies,” Magnus said, finding Izzy watching them across the fire. He smiled when she did, “she is beautiful and strong, I can see why you love her so much,” he said.

 

“She is, she deserves better,” Alec said with a sigh. “I didn’t mean she deserves better than Simon, I’m sure they will be great together. I meant she deserves more than secrecy and lies, she deserves a family and a home,” he reassured Magnus.

 

“Maybe they can’t have the family and home but Simon will cherish her, he is fierce in his loyalty and love. Your sister is in safe hands,” Magnus said, already feeling the same way about Izzy as Alec did. He could tell she was an easy person to love.

 

“What about Clary, is she in safe hands?” Magnus asked as he once again looked over the blonde angel she was wrapped around, smiling when Jace whispered something to a giggling Clary, making her laugh harder.

 

“He would protect her with his life,” Alec assured his mate. Jace may play the field but his loyalty to him and Izzy came above everything else. He could only imagine it would be more so with his mate.

 

“They seem pretty evenly matched, Clary would burn any world down for those she loves,” Magnus said, grinning as he thought of all the mishaps she had gotten herself into over the centuries for her loyalty, all the mishaps she had dragged either him or Simon into.

 

“It seems we got ourselves that family after all,” Magnus said as he snuggled into Alec’s side.  _ It may not be a traditional family but at least we’ll have each other to get us through. _

 

“How about I summon us some drinks and we can all get to know one another a little better?” Magnus asked, snapping his fingers when everyone agreed, and producing a couple of jugs of ale and wine, looking forward to getting to know his mate’s brother and sister. All in all, it was a better start than he could have hoped for... if he had dared to hope for it at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, everyone is on the same page. My heart broke for Sizzy. Also, Simon must be protected at all costs. He's too sweet!


	15. Unforeseen Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🙈🙈🙈

Magnus looked over their handy work as he set the last stone in place with a wave of his hand and set about casting protection spells on the entire structure, along with Clary and Simon. His hands danced as he silently intoned the last of the words and sealed the wards in place.

 

“Do you think she will like it?” Simon asked as he chewed his bottom lip, looking over the cabin with a sense of pride. It had taken them a week to do everything but they had finally gotten the last stones and logs in place on his and Izzy’s cabin, along with finishing Alec and Magnus’ and building a cabin for Jace and Clary.

 

“I’m sure she will love it,” Magnus replied, watching Cat instead of looking at the cabin. He laughed when Cat shewed Clary away from the dirt she was digging around in, setting flowers and herbs in place in front of the porch.

 

“Do you think she is okay?” Simon asked, his gaze darting towards the heavens for the hundredth time that day. He had had to stop himself from taking off in the direction more times than he could count.

 

“She’s fine, Simon. As she said, she’s been through this hundred’s of times over the last nine centuries or so. Stop worrying,” Magnus said, trying not to sound impatient.  _ Izzy is only been on the first day of her heat and he is already driving us insane. _

 

“Mhm, and if it was Alec, you would just stop worrying would you?” Simon muttered under his breath before leaving Magnus to look over the garden Cat was creating.

 

Simon paced the perimeter as he checked over the wards. He circled the entire cabin before climbing the porch steps and finding Clary inside the cabin, sculpting furniture for the two-bedroom house with her magic, all of them had added a second bedroom for Cat to have sleepovers when Alec and Magnus needed time to themselves.

 

“Hey, do you like these chairs?” Clary asked when a worried looking Simon entered the cabin, gesturing to the wooden chairs she had created. Izzy had left her in charge of furnishing the cabin after seeing the pieces she had created for her and Jace’s cabin and she was having trouble envisioning what the angel would like.

 

“Sure, they're nice,” Simon said absentmindedly, giving the chairs a cursory glance as he started pacing again. He missed the eye roll and the sigh Clary gave him.

 

“Why do three days feel like an eternity!” Simon asked, flopping down onto the sofa Clary had already made, looking around.

 

All three cabins had the same layout, one large living area with a couch and a couple of chairs, a large fireplace and an area to eat in. Two bedrooms and a washroom. Everything was made of wood they had stripped down from the forest and stone they had found in the mountains.

 

“Because you've spent every possible minute with her that you can and it's too soon after you've met to be parted from her,” Clary said, having a little more sympathy for Simon than Magnus did.

 

“I miss her. How do you miss someone you’ve only known for a week?” Simon asked, propping his elbows on his knees and letting his head fall into his hands.

 

“You miss her because she is the other half of you,” Clary said, leaving the chairs and sitting next to Simon to wrap an arm around his shoulders. “And she is lovely. You got lucky with her, Simon,” Clary said, squeezing her friend. Simon deserved every happiness and Izzy was the perfect compliment to him.

 

“I just want to take off for the heavens and bring her home,” Simon said, scrubbing his hands over his face, thinking of the hours they had sat together, learning each other and the lives they had led.

 

“You can’t see her, you know what will happen,” Clary said. Alpha demons may not turn into slavering imbeciles over any old Omega that crosses their path but their own mate was a different story altogether. 

 

Simon really didn’t need that siren call, and Izzy certainly wouldn’t refuse him, not judging by the way they had been caught wrapped around each other by all of them, numerous times over the last week.

 

“I know, it’s still hard though. You will have to go through all of this next week,” Simon said, gripping Clary’s hand where it rested on his shoulder. He felt bad when he saw the grimace, knowing she was thinking of the fact that they had all had to limit their time with their mates over the last week, to stop suspicion arising. 

 

It was alright for him, Clary and Magnus, apart from an ever-curious Elaine, they had no one to answer to. The angels, on the other hand, people would notice when they didn’t turn up for training or patrol. So they had come to an agreement that they would take it in turns, two couples at a time, to visit with their mates. It wasn’t perfect but the alternatives were unbearable.

 

“Just try to relax,” Clary said when Simon jumped to his feet and started pacing again. She let out a deep sigh, watching the twitch of his eye as he paced. “Go and see what Magnus is doing while I finish the table and chairs.”

 

Simon recognised a dismissal when he heard one. He needed the air anyway so he left her to it, pushing through the front door to find Magnus sitting on the porch, clutching a mug of ale.

 

“Do you think Izzy is in pain?” Simon asked as he took a seat on the top step, next to Magnus and looked over the fire pit and benches they had created in the centre of the beach area they had cleared, the three cabin’s surrounding it, for meals when they were able to get together.

 

“It can be a little bit painful, but I’m sure she can handle it,” Magnus said as diplomatically as he could. He didn’t think Simon needed to know about the aches and pains that went along with a heat. He looked out over the calm lake, dreading what next week would bring for him.

 

“What do you think she is doing?” Simon asked, wincing when he realised he was chewing on his fingernails again. He had chewed them down to the quick. 

 

“Let’s ask Alexander, shall we?” Magnus asked, his stomach fluttering as the silver blur that was his mate dropped from the heavens fast. He rolled his eyes when Simon took off in Alec’s direction, setting his drink down and climbing to his own feet only a little more sedately. He hadn’t been expecting Alec until the night and it was only mid-afternoon.

 

Simon flew at Alec, his hands twisting as Alec slowed down to meet him in mid-air. He looked the angel over, taking in the tiredness of his face and the way his shoulders were slumped slightly. And the scent that clung to him. It had his brain going haywire for a moment, the strong scent of orange blossom and Omega before he managed to rein himself in.  _ By every demon that exists, what must Izzy smell like? _

 

“She’s fine, Simon. She misses you,” Alec said, cutting Simon off before the demon could ask. “Could I take your tunic for her before I leave though? We think that maybe her Alpha’s scent will help settle her. She’s just a bit restless is all,” he said when Simon’s worried expression deepened.

 

“Yeah, sure, anything. I just want her to be happy and comfortable. Whatever she needs, it's hers. Maybe I could nip back to Edom and get a few more. How many do you think she will need? I could bring my whole…”

 

“Simon, seriously, one will do. Just relax,” Alec interjected, trying to keep the irritation from his tone. He knew that Simon was just nervous and worried but did he really have to talk so much? “Sorry, I’m just tired. It’s just two more days, okay?” he said, patting Simon’s shoulder as they landed. He strode forward when Magnus approached them.

 

“Oof, Alexander, did you miss me?” Magnus chuckled when Alec engulfed him in a bear hug, lifting him slightly of his feet as Alec’s white wings wrapped around him. He pressed his lips to Alec’s before Alec all but dragged him towards their cabin.

 

“Can you guys watch Cat for a bit?” Alec asked over his shoulder as he practically carried Magnus towards their cabin. He ignored the whistles Clary and Simon let out, rolling his eyes at them. A small smile played at the corner of his lips as Cat merely waved at him over her shoulder, engrossed in Simon and Izzy’s garden.

 

“You really did miss me,” Magnus chuckled as Alec shuffled them up the steps of their porch and through their front door. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked when Alec closed the front door and leant against it.

 

“I didn’t want to say anything in front of Simon, I didn’t want him to worry any more than he is but Izzy is freaking out,” Alec said, rolling his sleeves up to show Magnus his arms.

 

“What the fuck? Did Isabelle do that?” Magnus asked, yanking Alec’s arms up and inspecting the scratches that covered them. He set about healing them immediately. He wasn’t the healer that Becky was but he could manage these even if there were a lot of them.

 

“She went berserk, trying to claw her way out of the house to get to Simon. I’m worried about her. Jace is with her now, we can’t leave her for a second, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to contain her on my own when Jace has patrol later. Magnus, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s like a superheat or something,” Alec replied, sighing a little at the relief from Magnus’ magic.

 

“I’ve been around her when she’s been in heat before, just at the beginning stages. She’s never been like this before though. We daren’t leave her in case she escapes the heavens. I only came to get Simon’s scent,” Alec said, allowing Magnus to tow him to the low couch they had placed in front of the stone fireplace.

 

“A superheat?” Magnus asked, his eyebrows furrowed as he inspected Alec’s arms once more, kissing the blemish-free skin.

 

“It’s like her normal heat, but amplified. She thinks it’s because she has met her mate but can’t actually mate him. The other Omega’s she knows, the mated ones, they all said their heats got stronger when they met their mates. All she can think about is getting to Simon, Jace doesn't look much better than I do. She says it is a physical pain, scraping her insides raw,” Alec said, staring worriedly at his mate.

 

“And you think it will be the same for me?” Magnus asked when he saw the desperate worry on Alec’s face. “Alexander, I will be fine, I promise,” he said, unsure of whether he was speaking the truth but wanting to reassure Alec anyway.

 

“It’s not normal, I’m telling you,” Alec said, pulling Magnus onto his lap, his Omega just wasn’t close enough as far as he was concerned. “The whole situation isn’t normal. Other angels don’t have this problem. They can mate with their partners and go through heats together. She is suffering, Magnus, and I can’t help her.” 

 

Magnus kissed Alec on the temple before unwinding Alec’s arms from around him. He stood and made his way over to the table that they had designated for eating before snapping his fingers.

 

“What are you doing?” Alec asked when he followed Magnus to the table, seeing piles of ingredients on the surface. He watched as Magnus started piling things into a bowl.

 

“I’m preparing a potion for your sister. Maybe it will help if she can sleep through most of it. It also soothes the worst of the cramps,” Magnus said, adding some extra lavender and a touch more valerian root than he would usually use to the bowl.

 

“Thank you,” Alec said reverently as he watched Magnus grind the contents of the bowl and add some sort of green liquid to it. He waited patiently as Magnus waved a hand and snapped his fingers, seeing the liquid turn blue.

 

“It can be hard to sleep when you’re in heat, this will help. It usually just helps you doze but I’ve increased the quantity of some of the ingredients. If she’s as bad as you say, she will need it. Give her half a bottle, if she is still not asleep after an hour, give her the rest of that bottle, I'll give you three days worth. Remember, half a bottle at a time, one bottle per day and make sure she eats between doses. One bottle should knock her out for the next day or so,” Magnus said as he bottled the potion and handed it over.

 

“I will, thank you, I don’t know what I’d do without you. Make sure you make plenty of that for yourself, I don’t want you to suffer,” Alec said, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ waist and burying his nose in Magnus’ scent glands. “I love you,” he whispered into Magnus’ ear.

 

“I love you too,” Magnus said after a moment when Alec pulled back and stared wide-eyed at him. His stomach was somewhere on the floor, his heart thundering at the truth of the words. “I love you,” he said again, testing them out on his tongue. The words felt right.

 

A relief like none he had ever felt before flooded Alec when Magnus said it back. “I love you,” Alec said again, a laugh bursting from him. “I love you,” he murmured against Magnus’ lips as he pulled his Omega flush against him. The words had just come out, as naturally as breathing. He felt them in the marrow of his bones.

 

Magnus pouted his lips forward, catching Alec’s lips in a kiss that stole his breath. He moved closer, his hands sliding into Alec’s hair as he fought for breath, giggling when he heard Alec’s breathless noises. He fought the laugh to keep kissing Alec but it wasn’t working, he was too giddy. 

 

“Stop laughing, I’m trying to kiss you,” Alec chuckled, unable to hold back his own laugh as he put his worries aside for a moment. He kissed the corners of Magnus’ mouth through his grin, his eyes closing when Magnus skimmed his nose up the length of his own. He tightened his hold at the small of Magnus back, burying his face in Magnus’ neck again.

 

A contented sigh burst from Magnus when Alec kissed his scent glands, tingles shooting through him from the hot, open-mouthed kisses there. He tilted his head, his eyelids fluttering as he pressed even closer to Alec, moulding himself to his Alpha. He jumped when the door opened, still not used to others knowing about them, and looked around to see that it was just Cat.

 

“Are you kissing again?” Cat asked with an eye roll, mimicking kisses in Alec and Magnus’ direction.

 

“That’s what you do when you love someone, little one. You kiss them until you can’t breathe,” Magnus chuckled, still giddy from the words, marvelling at the revelation that they were in love.

 

Cat shook her head, she already knew Magnus and Alec were in love. A blind, deaf, mute could have told her that. She snapped her fingers and produced a cup of orange juice as she perched on the couch.

 

“Are you staying for dinner, Alec?” Cat asked, waving her hand threateningly. She had become quite proficient at conjuring food and tried as often as possible to feed everyone. It wasn’t showing off, of course.

 

“I can’t, little one, I have to get back to Izzy,” Alec said, regretfully letting go of Magnus’ ass where he had been holding it. “But I’ll take something for the journey please,” He said when he saw the devastation on Cat’s face, having to hold back a laugh.

 

“Okay, if you insist,” Cat grinned. She snapped her fingers and produced a stack of oatcakes and a couple of apples and shoved them into his pockets. She jumped and hung off of Alec’s neck to kiss his cheek before scrambling back down to go and plant some of the leftover flowers in their garden.

 

“She’s getting good at that,” Alec said, as he stuck the bottles into his pockets too. “What?” he asked when he looked up to see Magnus watching him with glowing eyes.

 

“You, you’re so adorable when you blush like that,” Magnus said, kissing Alec’s other cheek.

 

“I don’t blush!” Alec protested before making his way to the door with a sigh. “I can’t promise anything but I’ll try and come back tomorrow. We can’t leave Izzy, one of us needs to stay with her at all times. Can you try and keep Simon in Edom, just in case she gets loose?” he asked as Magnus escorted back outside.

 

“I’ll try, I don’t know if he will go for it but I’ll try. Take as long as she needs,” Magnus said, giving his mate’s arm a squeeze. “And give Izzy my best,” he said.

 

“I will, thank you for the potion,” Alec said when he reached the foot of the porch steps. He craned his head back when Magnus stopped on the step above him, to kiss his Omega. “Can you explain to Clary when Simon isn’t around that Jace might not be able to come either please?” he asked.

 

“Of course. Look after her,” Magnus said, letting go so Alec could leave, even if he didn’t particularly want to. 

 

“I’ll see you as soon as I can, I love you,” Alec said, grinning when Magnus said it back. He turned to see Simon and Clary stood behind him, matching soppy grins on their faces. He held his hand out to Simon, staring pointedly at the demon’s tunic until Simon took the hint.

 

“Tell her I miss her and that I can’t wait to see her. If you need any more of my scent, I’ll get you some more tunics, just come any time, I'll be here waiting. My mother will just have to do without me. I’m not leaving until I have her back in my arms, until I know she’s okay,” Simon said as he pulled his tunic over his head and held it out in Clary’s direction.

 

“Should keep her going for a while, it’s strong,” Clary said when she realised what Simon wanted, inhaling the scent of her friend that clung to the material with an eye-roll to rival one of Alec’s finest.

 

Alec took the tunic, holding it away from his body to keep his scent away from it as much as possible as he gave Magnus one last look before calling his goodbyes to Cat and bending a knee. He shot up into the air, rising as fast as possible.

 

Alec thought of his sister as he rose, unable to keep from worrying as he imagined Magnus going through the same thing next week. The thought had a deep growl rumbling through him. He didn’t want Magnus suffering, not when he should be there to look after his mate, to see to his needs and help him through it.

 

Those thoughts kept pushing through everything else as he finally breached the boundary of the heavens, beating his wings hard to get back to his sister’s house faster. But he knew that if he spent Magnus’ heat with him, that they would mate and that they risked Magnus getting pregnant.

 

_ That’s what makes it worse, we shouldn’t have to worry about Magnus getting pregnant. We should be able to celebrate having a child, not fear it. At least we have Cat. She might not be our daughter by blood but she is just as good as having our own child, she is the closest we will ever get. _

 

Alec pushed aside his thoughts as he landed outside of Izzy’s house, taking a deep breath before pushing through the door. The scent hit him like a wall as soon as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, the scent of unmated Omega and desperation. He could already hear the growls coming from the direction of Izzy’s bedroom.

 

Alec understood what Simon had meant when the demon had said that Magnus and Clary’s scents, while they were in heat, didn’t affect him. He could scent unmated Omega but it wasn’t tempting in the slightest. 

 

Alec had always thought it was because Izzy was his sister but maybe it was more to do with the fact that she wasn’t his mate. He couldn’t even begin to guess what Magnus would smell like to him while his Omega was in heat.

 

“Iz, how are you holding up?” Alec asked when he pushed into Izzy’s room, the scent only intensifying. His heart broke when he saw Izzy, sitting in the corner of her bedroom with her head pressed into the wall, curled into a ball.

 

“I’m doing my best but I want to see him so badly,” Izzy muttered from between clenched teeth when she looked up through the blur of her tears to see that Alec had returned. She tightened her grip on her aching legs when Alec pulled the door closed behind him, thankful that she hadn’t had another cramp while Jace was in the bathroom. 

 

Izzy was on the verge of losing the battle she was having with herself, to keep from taking advantage of Jace’s momentary absence. If another cramp, another wave of desire had hit her, she would have been gone before Jace could blink.

 

Every part of her was aching, her joints, her skin, every cell of her body. The blood pounding through her body was a mixture of fire and ice. It was nothing, however, compared to the aching need that sang through her, the need for her Alpha and his knot. She pushed her sweaty hair out of the way as Alec approached her slowly, her nostrils flaring from the scent that he brought with him.

 

“Please, please just let me go to him, please? He can help me,” Izzy begged when the scent of her Alpha hit her, overtaking everything but her most basic needs, it had a desperate snarl ripping from her parched throat. She dragged herself to her knees, darting forward and practically ripping the material from Alec’s hand, wrapping it around her as she curled into a ball once more in the middle of the floor.

 

“Izzy, please, stop scratching?” Jace asked as he stepped out of the washroom with a damp cloth for his sister. “Look what you’ve done to yourself,” he said, giving Alec a nod as he approached Izzy and tried to clean the wounds she had opened up on her arms.

 

“I can’t, I feel like I’m crawling out of my skin,” Izzy growled, hissing when the freezing wet cloth hit her overheated skin. “If you would just let me out, just let me see him for a couple of minutes, I’ll be fine. He can help me, he’ll make me feel better, please?” she begged as another wave hit her, a wave of need. 

 

Jace lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Izzy when Alec was too slow to stop her from darting forward, towards the door. He ignored the scrape of her fingernails as she tried to claw her way to the door again.

 

“Get off me! Let me go! You don’t care about me, if you did, you would let me go to him,” Izzy screamed, trying to kick her brother off of her as Jace caged her to the floor. She flailed harder when Alec grabbed her arms.

 

“I’m so sorry, Iz, we can’t let you go. You know what will happen,” Alec whispered as he wrapped Izzy’s arms around her body and held her with her back to his chest to stop her from lashing out at Jace. He didn’t take her words to heart, he knew that she didn’t mean it.

 

“It will be over soon, then we will take you to see him, I promise,” Jace said, pinning Izzy’s legs to the floor to stop her from kicking out.

 

“I need him now,” Izzy cried, the tears that were dripping down her face mingling with the sweat that was pouring out of her. She ached everywhere, especially where Alec’s arms held her bare arms and Jaces hands held her bare legs, her oversensitive skin burning. 

 

Even the shift Izzy was wearing, because her brothers refused to leave her alone for a second, felt like too much, scraping her skin raw. She would usually spend her heats wearing nothing, her skin too sensitive for clothing. 

 

Alec exchanged a look with Jace as he scooped up Simon’s tunic and wrapped it around Izzy once more when she stopped fighting them. He scooped Izzy up into his arms when she sank into the material, inhaling Simon’s scent deeply. He stood and carried her over to her bed, laying her down in the middle of it.

 

Izzy ignored her brothers, curling around Simon’s tunic as she breathed deeply. It was nowhere near enough, nothing compared to the relief Simon’s touch would bring her but it was better than nothing. She wanted to rub the tunic over her entire naked body, to bathe in it, to wear it like a second skin. A hiss escaped her as Jace once again tried to wipe her face down with the cloth.

 

“Magnus gave me something for you, a potion to help you sleep. Will you take some for me?” Alec asked as he took one of the small vials Magnus had prepared from his pocket and showed it to Izzy. He snatched it right back when Izzy’s hand shot out and grabbed the bottle.

 

“You have to be careful with it,” Alec said, pulling the little stopper out of the bottle. He lifted Izzy’s head and put the bottle to her lips, tilting it so she could drink. He ignored the snarl that ripped from her when he took the bottle away after she had drunk half of it. 

 

Izzy went back to clinging to Simon's tunic when Alec took the bottle away, grimacing at the taste. It was bitter and herby but she started to feel the effects of whatever was in it almost immediately. She could breathe easier, the itch on her skin starting to lessen.

 

Jace watched as Izzy calmed down, his sister stopping her growling and scratching. He breathed a sigh of relief as Izzy turned what could only be described as docile before their eyes. He handed Alec the cloth and went to the washroom to retrieve another, taking a moment to breathe before he grabbed another cloth and soaked it in the warm water from the bowl that he had heated up earlier.

 

“Clary and Magnus are going to be like this next week, aren't they?” Jace asked when he returned to find Alec wiping Izzy's face and shoulders down with the cloth. He started on her arms, pushing his discomfort aside to help clean her up, not wanting her to be uncomfortable.

 

“I tried to warn Magnus, asked him to warn Clary but I don’t think he realised how bad it was,” Alec said as he wiped Izzy’s right arm down. His gut was clenching as he thought of what Magnus would go through, feeling almost as bad for Clary. He liked Simon and Clary more than he thought he would. Sure, Simon talked a lot and Clary was impulsive, but they had a strong bond with Magnus, for which he was grateful.

 

“Do you think Simon will be enough to keep them contained?” Jace asked. Just the thought of Clary roaming any of the realms, the thought of her trying to get to him, had his heart pounding. Izzy had tried begging, bargaining, fighting, insults, even sinking as low as trying to bite him when they had tried to stop her from going to Simon. 

 

“I don’t know. Magnus and Clary have magic. What if they team up and use their magic to try and get past him?” Alec asked. The thought of Simon being close to his mate was giving him palpitations. Simon may not be attracted to Magnus but that didn’t mean he wanted another Alpha near his mate and he knew Jace felt the same. As ridiculous as it was, that was how he felt.

 

“We can explain it to Simon, once Izzy’s heat has finished. If we tell him before it’s over, he would probably come up here looking for her. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to stay away when it’s Clary’s turn,” Jace admitted, voicing the fear that had been playing at the back of his mind since Izzy’s heat had started in the night.

 

“You have to. You both have to,” Izzy whispered. She was trying to concentrate through the woozy feeling in her head to listen to their conversation. The aches in her joints were starting to lessen but she felt lethargic and weak. “You both have to control yourselves, for them,” she said.

 

Izzy flinched when another cramp hit her, curling her hands around her abdomen, having to fight her body when all she wanted to do was shove her hand between her legs to try and ease the need she felt. It wasn’t as bad as it had been before the potion but she still desperately needed some relief.

 

“Guys, can you…” Izzy didn’t finish the question, just gestured to the door when the need became too much. She usually suffered through her heats just with her hand but Clary had made her some wooden toys when they had talked about heats and she had admitted that she had never heard of the toys Clary had described. 

 

Izzy was already thinking about the one that simulated an Alpha’s knot. As uncomfortable as they were, they were vastly superior to her hand. She had already contemplated just leaving one inside herself and probably would have if her brothers hadn’t been hovering when the need had passed.

 

Alec got the hint, putting the cloth aside to stand up. As much as he didn’t want to leave Izzy on her own, he understood what she needed. He could feel his face heating up, the same blush playing over his own face as the one on Jace’s.

 

Jace followed Alec from the room, refusing to look when he heard Izzy’s bed creak and the sound of her rummaging through the box of toys Clary had made for her. He didn’t need to see what his sister was doing to know, a shudder running down his spine as he blushed harder.

 

“Do you think Clary would be willing to stay with Izzy during her next heat if Izzy spent it in the mortal realm?” Alec asked when they stepped out onto the porch of Izzy’s house. He loved his sister, would do anything to help her. But there were just some things that a brother didn’t need to know about.

 

“Probably. Maybe Clary should spend hers in the mortal realm and Izzy could stay with her. I know it sounds bad but I’d rather have Izzy there than Simon. And maybe Simon would find it easier to cope with just Magnus,” Jace said. Another Omega was much more preferable than an Alpha in his mind. He felt guilty when Alec winced, knowing that Magnus would have two Alpha’s nearby, one of them actually interested in mating him.

 

“The question is, will we be able to keep each other in check?” Alec asked, trying to push thoughts of Camille away as he wondered if he and Jace would be able to stop each other from going to their mates after what they had witnessed so far. At least he would have two realms separating him and his mate, Jace would be much closer to Clary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel so bad for Izzy right now 😞😞😞


	16. Welcome Home

Magnus checked into the rooms of his father’s home as he passed, looking for Cat, wondering where his charge had gotten to. He called her name, searching the many rooms as he went. With his father out of the realm, she had gotten curious and started exploring, feeling more confident knowing that Asmodeus wasn’t there to breathe down her neck.

 

“Where is she?” Simon asked impatiently as he searched the rooms on the opposite side of the hallway to Magnus. He loved Cat but Izzy’s heat was finally due to end today and he wanted to get going. Being unable to open portals into the mortal realm meant he had to wait for Magnus. He dearly wished it wasn’t so hard. Magnus was teaching him but he couldn’t grasp it.

 

“I shouldn’t have let you talk me into coming back to Edom before I saw her,” Simon muttered under his breath as he ducked into the library and waved his hand, the ball of light he held brightening as it zoomed around the empty room.

 

“You know what your mother is like, she’s like a Shax demon with a bone to pick when she thinks someone is lying to her, she wouldn’t leave me alone” Magnus snapped before he checked his father’s second library.  _ Because one library isn’t enough for Asmodeus. _

 

“Maybe you should be better at lying then?” Simon retorted as he closed the library door behind him, knowing he was being petty. His mother had grilled him all night and day and he had literally just escaped her.

 

“You aren’t the only one who has missed their mate, Simon, don’t take your shitty mood out on me,” Magnus sighed. He wracked his brain, trying to think of where Cat could be before an idea popped into his head. He gestured for Simon to follow him.

 

“I know, I’m sorry, I’m just worried about Izzy,” Simon said as he followed Magnus. He frowned when he realised where his friend was leading him. “Do you really think she would go in there?” he asked when Magnus pushed through the door to Asmodeus’ private wing.

 

“She is curious and he isn’t here,” Magnus shrugged. He checked his father's study first, the closest door on the right, sighing a breath of relief when he found Cat. 

 

“So this is where you’ve been hiding?” Magnus asked, grinning when Cat jumped a foot in the air.

 

“Magnus, you scared me!” Cat cried, dropping the book she had been looking at when Magnus and Simon caught her snooping. 

 

“Come on, we need to go,” Simon said, darting forward and scooping Cat up under one arm in his haste to get going. 

 

“Magnus, tell him to put me down. I can walk just fine on my own!” Cat cried when Simon bounced her as he started walking fast. She rolled her eyes when Magnus just laughed, closing the door to Asmodeus’ rooms behind him. She grinned when she shot a pulse of magic into Simon’s butt.

 

“Hey, you little…!” Simon grumbled when Cat hit his sciatic nerve and his leg almost went from beneath him. He put her down, scowling when she stuck her tongue out and skipped out of his reach, straight into Magnus’ arms.

 

“That’s my girl,” Magnus chuckled as he caught Cat. He sat her on his hip and sauntered past Simon. “That’s what you get for your earlier outburst Simon,” he said with a wink.

 

Simon massaged his ass muscles as he followed Cat and Magnus out of the palace and spread his wings. He took off after them, grumbling to himself the entire time, secretly thankful for the pace Magnus set. Three days had felt like an eternity.

 

Magnus waved to Clary when he saw her waiting for them in the grove of stunted trees where he made his portals. He didn’t stop, simply waving his arm and creating a portal for them. Clary was better at making the portals than Simon but she had waited anyway. 

 

_ She didn’t get us lost in one of the lower realms during her last attempt,  _ Magnus thought as his gaze found Simon when they emerged from his portal. He followed with a shake of his head when Simon took off, turning to a titanium blur in his haste to get to Izzy.

 

“How is your mother?” Magnus asked as he and Clary flew at a  more sedate pace, looking at his friend when she let out a deep sigh.

 

“Driving me insane. Of all the powers she could have been gifted with, why did it have to be the ability to detect lies?” Clary asked miserably. Her mother wouldn’t let up every time she returned from the mortal realm. “I told her I’m moving out,” she said.

 

“What? Why?” Magnus asked, slowing down slightly so he could talk to his friend. He let Cat fly ahead of them when she wriggled in his arms.

 

“It’s too much, it’s getting too hard to deflect her questions. She even tried to make my father talk some sense into me but he wasn’t interested,” Clary said. Telling her mother or stopping seeing Jace weren’t options. The only choice she had, to avoid suspicion, was to find her own place.

 

“Is your father still ignoring you?” Magnus asked quietly, silently wondering what Valentine would think of his daughter if she told him her mate was an angel. On one hand, he would probably lose his shit at the thought of her mating one of the angels who had cast him out. On the other, he would probably be overjoyed that her mate wasn’t a demon.

 

“He ignores everyone. He shuts himself away in his study, day after day, trying to find a way to worm his way back into The Host,” Clary said, rolling her eyes at her ridiculous father. “If he has been banished for almost a millennium, they aren’t going to just let him back now, are they?” she asked.

 

“Do you think he would leave you behind if they did?” Magnus asked as they approached the east face of their mountain, their cabins being on the western side.

 

“It doesn’t really matter, does it? They wouldn't let him back into the heavens,” Clary said. They all knew that The Host didn’t reverse their positions on such matters. As far as the angels were concerned, Valentine was irredeemable. He certainly hadn’t shown any penance for his past actions, still believing as he did all those centuries ago. “But yes, I think he would leave me behind in a heartbeat.”

 

Magnus felt awful for his friend. Valentine was a hard man. Clary had spent so many years seeking his approval, decades and decades before realising that he would never love her the way a father should. Her black wings were a reminder of everything he hated and everything he had become, because of his own actions. She had then spent centuries getting over that fact. 

 

Magnus could still hear the slight hint of disappointment in her tone but he also heard the resignation there, Clary was used to it.

 

“I see Simon isn’t wasting any time,” Clary said when they cleared the mountains and saw the blaze of a fire far below them. She led the way, smiling when she saw Cat and Simon working together to get started on a meal for them all. “I can’t wait until the others get here,” she said, thinking of Jace specifically.

 

“Me too,” Magnus muttered. The scent of roasting chickens was already filling the air as they landed, making him wonder if Simon was cheating with magic. He conjured them a couple of bottles of wine and jugs of ale and took a seat on one of the benches, happy to let Cat and Simon do all of the work as he watched the skies.

 

“We can’t just have meat, we need vegetables too,” Simon muttered when Cat waved a hand and all of the carrots and peas disappeared. He snapped his fingers and conjured more, throwing them in the pot he had already set to bubbling.

 

“Fiiiine, but I’m only eating the peas,” Cat drawled. She couldn’t help giggling whenever Simon looked up at every tiny noise. She knew he was trying to distract himself with the dinner as he waited for Izzy to come home.

 

“You have to eat the carrots too, little one,” Magnus said around the rim of his cup, sipping his red wine slowly. He looked up when a rose-gold blur caught his attention, out the corner of his eye.

 

Simon looked up too, dropping the spoon into the pot when he saw his mate approaching fast. He forgot all about dinner, bending a knee to take off, wanting to meet her. He rose seventy feet into the air in his haste, laughing nervously when Izzy retracted her wings above him.

 

“I’ve got you,” Simon whispered when Izzy landed in his arms, burying his face in her neck as he felt her reassuring weight in his arms once more.

 

“I missed you, so much! I never want to have another heat as long as I live,” Izzy mumbled into Simon’s neck, inhaling his scent just as hard as Simon was inhaling hers. Her eyes opened when she heard a wooshing as Simon started to descend, to see Jace dropping fast, nothing but a golden blur.

 

Jace spread his wings just in time to stop himself from turning their homes into a crater, landing softly on his feet. He held his arms open, laughing when Clary bounded towards him and jumped. He caught her, spinning her in a circle before her legs wrapped around his waist.

 

“Did you miss me?” Jace asked, staring into Clary’s red eyes, bright with unshed tears before he slammed his lips to hers, cutting off any answer she might have given him.

 

Magnus set his cup aside when a silver blur came into view. He climbed to his feet, his stomach fluttering as it always did when his Alpha was close by. He opened his arms when Alec landed gracefully in front of him, sinking into Alec’s embrace.

 

“Hello, my love,” Magnus murmured, not needing to ask if Alec had missed him, he already knew. He pressed his forehead to Alec’s basking in his Alpha’s scent.

 

“Hi,” Alec murmured back, pulling Magnus flush against him. He pressed his lips to Magnus’ grinning against Magnus’ lips when he tasted the wine there… and when Magnus pressed closer to him.

 

Alec invaded Magnus’ mouth like he would never get the chance again, breathing hard when Magnus’ tongue met his just as ferociously. He tightened his hold on his mate, bunching his fists in the leather of Magnus’ tunic, in the small of his back.

 

Magnus’ hands found Alec’s head, his fingers slipping into Alec’s hair, thumbs sweeping up Alec’s cheekbones to hold him in place. He melted against his Alpha, breathing him in with short, sharp inhalations as Alec sent him dizzy.

 

Alec was just getting into the kiss, deliberating if it would be too rude to drag Magnus back to their cabin and shut the rest of the universe out for the rest of their lives when a weight descended on his back.

 

“Stop eating Magnus and come and eat dinner instead,” Cat called in Alec’s ear as she clung to his back, giggling when Alec growled and pulled her over his shoulder. She shrieked when he mauled her neck before pressing kisses to her cheeks.

 

“Don’t worry, I missed you too, little one,” Alec chuckled, bouncing Cat in his arms before mauling her again. Her shrieking laughs were like music to his ears, he really had missed her.

 

Magnus watched Alec and Cat, his heart bursting with love for both of them. A grin spread over his face when Alec looked him in the eye, winking before throwing Cat in his direction. He caught her, throwing his head back in laughter when Cat flailed through the air screaming. He threw her back, shaking his head when Alec pretended to drop her.

 

“Stop! Stop, don’t drop me you oafs,” Cat bellowed, clinging onto Alec’s neck for dear life. She pressed her lips to his cheek before scrambling down and taking his hand, pulling him towards the benches. “Alec, what happened to your arm?” she shouted when she saw the scratches that covered them, looking up at Alec in the firelight, she could see some on his face and neck too.

 

“It’s fine, just a couple of scratches,” Alec said hastily, his gaze finding Izzy and the guilt-ridden look on her face. He smiled at her, shaking his head when he saw her open her mouth, probably to apologise again. He allowed Cat to push him down onto a bench before she started to heal them.

 

Alec wasn’t the only one getting the healing treatment. Jace endured Clary’s ministrations with good grace, sighing with relief as the ache of his black eye lessened. 

 

“Magnus told me that Izzy’s heat was a bad one but he didn’t say it was this bad,” Clary muttered as she healed the plethora of scratches and bruises Jace was covered in. She looked up when she heard Izzy’s apologies, feeling like a bit of an ass for her angry thoughts when she saw how guilty Izzy looked.

 

“Iz, it’s fine, you didn’t mean it. You’ve kicked both of our asses worse than this in training,” Jace assured his sister again. He listened as Alec explained about what Izzy's heat had been like and the solution they had come up with, rolling his eyes when the demons looked sceptical.

 

“Magnus, when you make the potion for yourself and Clary, you have to make it stronger. It didn’t work like you thought it would, Izzy has barely slept over the last three days,” Alec said when Cat had finished with him.

 

“What effect did it have on you, Isabelle?” Magnus asked, his head snapping around in her direction, his brow furrowed. “It should have knocked you out cold,” he said.

 

“It made me tired and more compliant, apart from when the cramps hit. But I couldn’t sleep, the need was too strong,” Izzy said, looking at Simon instead of Magnus. She had had some very interesting fantasies over the last three days and the odd wave of desire was still running through her now and then. “Every time another cramp hit me, whenever the toys weren’t enough, I tried to wrestle my way past these two to get to Simon.”

 

“That’s what the injuries were from?” Simon asked, staring at his mate, trying to imagine what she had been going through over the last few days. It had him pulling her onto his lap and shuffling away from the others, a growl rumbling through his chest. He wanted to take Izzy away from everything, mate her and keep her from ever having to go through it again.

 

Izzy went, happy to be in Simon’s arms after being desperate for it for so long. She let Simon inspect every inch of her, seeing the worry in his eyes.

 

“Maybe it is best if we go with your plan,” Magnus said, meeting Alec’s gaze when his mate looked at him. Simon was good at keeping control of him during his heat but add in Clary and having to keep Camile at bay, he wasn’t sure Simon would be up to the task. While he had every faith in his friend, Izzy’s heat sounded horrible and Camille was a sneaky bitch.

 

Alec didn’t know whether to sigh with relief or snarl in Simon’s direction. Sure, he was grateful that there would be someone there to protect Magnus, but that someone should have been him.

 

“Well, I’m happy for Izzy to stay with me through my heat if that’s okay with you, Iz?” Clary asked, smiling when Izzy agreed. She elbowed Jace when he started sulking. “Shut up, you know I would rather spend it with you. It’s going to take us a few goes before we find a solution that works for us all. Thankfully, it’s only once every three months,” she said, everyone else agreeing.

 

Cat looked around at all the adults, fervently hoping she presented as a Beta when it was her turn, being an Alpha or an Omega sounded downright miserable to her.  _ Neither sounds appealing, stuck having a miserable three days or being forced to let your mate go without you and suffering almost as much, no thanks. _

 

“I think dinner is ready,” Cat said, pushing it out of her mind as her stomach rumbled, she was starving. She already had her plate ready, staring hopefully at the rotating chickens as they turned on the spit.

 

“Trust Catarina to ignore mating problems in favour of food,” Magnus chuckled, extracting himself from Alec’s arms to check the food, he could see the hope, plain on her face. He snapped his fingers, producing enough plates for everyone, noting that Cat had only conjured one for herself, when he deemed the chickens were cooked.

 

Alec moved forward to help Magnus, taking the plates so Magnus could serve the food. He smiled his thanks at Clary when she handed him a mug of ale while Jace brought cushions and blankets from his and Clary’s cabin. Everyone was happy to leave Izzy and Simon to each other, Izzy’s exhaustion obvious.

 

Alec watched Simon as he helped Magnus, watched the way he fussed over his sister, trying to make her comfortable with a pile of blankets and cushions. It warmed him further to Simon, to see how attentive the demon was. 

 

Alec had been watching Simon and Clary a lot over the week they had spent getting the cabins finished. If his siblings couldn’t be mated to angels, he was glad that their mates were at least nice, each of them the perfect compliment to Jace and Izzy.

 

“Stop hovering and eat your food,” Magnus whispered in Alec’s ear, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth when Alec looked down at the plate in his hands. “Everyone else has got some,” he said as Alec looked around.

 

“She’s fine, they both are. I told you, Simon and Clary are good people,” Magnus said, pulling Alec onto the bench with him before tucking into his chicken and vegetables.

 

“I know, I’m still allowed to worry though,” Alec mumbled between bites of his chicken. It felt like that was all he had done lately, worry, about his siblings, about his mate, about the uncertain future they all faced. It was times like these though, times when he was surrounded by his new friends and family that he was grateful that they had each found somebody. And maybe a little selfishly, secretly glad that it wasn’t just him and Magnus that had to go through the hard times.

 

“Catarina, don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. Eat those vegetables please,” Magnus called across the fire, not fooled for a minute by the innocent look on her face when she shuffled closer to Clary and Jace. “Tell her biscuit,” he said.

 

“Did you think he wouldn’t notice if you came and sat with us?” Jace asked, doing his best to hold back a laugh when Cat scowled at him, and failing miserably. He only laughed harder when he heard her mutter the word “traitor” when Clary gave her a look.

 

“If you let me leave the carrots, I’ll eat all of my peas,” Cat tried to bargain, batting her eyelashes in Clary’s direction. She silently fumed, shovelling the disgusting carrots in her mouth as fast as she could get them down when Clary told her she had to eat them too, trying not to taste them.

 

“Eat it all and you can have something sweet afterwards,” Alec said, leaving his own dinner to watch over Cat, his eyes glued to her until she only had chicken left on her plate. He knew she wasn’t leaving that. He returned to his dinner when she started eating the last of hers.

 

“They’re good with her, aren’t they?” Simon asked, watching Izzy’s eyes and runes glow as she watched her brother. He had barely been able to drag his eyes off of her since she had landed in his arms.

 

“I always knew my brother would make a great father, he is so caring. If he can’t have a child of his own, I’m glad he has Cat,” Izzy replied. She wasn’t surprised by how good Alec was with Cat. Maybe surprised at how close they were, along with Magnus, and how fast they had bonded with the child. “I suppose it helps that she is easy to love,” she said.

 

“She is. My mother and sister love having her around, they are teaching her healing, between them. She’s extremely gifted, she surprises us all,” Simon said affectionately. Cat was a breath of fresh air for his mother who still struggled with the loss of her mate, centuries later. 

 

Having Cat around helped Elaine, gave her a reason to keep fighting, something she hadn’t had much of since he and Becky had become more independent. It was the reason he and his sister hadn’t moved out.

 

“Maybe it was fate, being sent to that village,” Izzy said, watching Cat conjure herself some fruit after she had shown Alec and Magnus her empty plate. “I’m not so sure she would be looking at the same future if Alec hadn’t found her in those bushes,” she said, wondering if another angel would have even let her live. While no angel wanted to harm a child, it wasn’t common practice to know a demon that would have been able to take her in.

 

Simon nodded his agreement. He shuddered at the thought of what future Cat could have had. Magnus’ childhood hadn’t been easy, living with a father that tolerated and used him more than loved him. 

 

His own parents had loved him and Clary’s mother had at least loved her, even if her father had no time and a thinly veiled dislike for her. Cat’s father, however, was an unknown, none of them had bothered to look into who he might be. They were Cat’s family, as far as they were concerned. He looked up when a hand floated in front of his face.

 

“Plates,” Clary said, holding her hands out for Izzy and Simon’s plates. She took them and handed them to Jace before collecting the rest from Alec, Cat and Magnus, and followed Jace down to the lake to clean them up.

 

“Do you want to come flying with me?” Jace asked as he rinsed off the plates, handing them over to Clary to dry with her magic before she sent them back to Magnus and Alec’s cabin with a wave of her hand.

 

“Sure, I love spending time with the others but we haven’t been flying for ages,” Clary answered, her stomach fluttering at the thought of flying beneath the stars with her Alpha. It was something she had missed more than she had realised over the last week.

 

Jace grinned, taking Clary’s hand when she dried them off with a wave of her hand. He shouted to the others, letting them know that they were leaving for a bit before bending a knee, at the same time as his mate.

 

Simon watched Clary and Jace go before turning at the sound of a yawn behind him. He shook his head when he saw Izzy trying to hide it behind her hand. He stood and scooped Izzy up, blankets and all.

 

“I’m fine, we can stay for a bit,” Izzy tried to protest when Simon picked her up, glancing around at Alec and Magnus.

 

“Go and get some sleep, Isabelle, you look exhausted,” Magnus said when he saw the apology on Izzy’s face. He waved her and Simon off as he picked Cat up. “We are going to get Cat to bed anyway. Spend some time with your mate,” he said.

 

“I’m not even tired,” Cat mumbled when Magnus picked her up.

 

“Mhm, and I’m an Alpha,” Magnus said, raising an eyebrow at Cat when she tried to stifle a yawn. He turned to Alec, smiling when his Alpha immediately stood up and followed after him. He held Cat tighter when her arms came around his neck.

 

Alec walked past Magnus, jogging up their porch steps to open the cabin door for his mate. He closed it after them when Magnus filled the rooms with a soft glow. He left Cat and Magnus to it, to light the candles in their bedroom.

 

Magnus carried Cat into the washroom, sitting her on the side as he filled the large bowl with warm water. He watched over Cat, when it was filled, to make sure she washed her face and hands properly before he took up the wide-toothed comb they kept in there for her and set about trying to tame the knots that had accumulated in her hair over the course of the day.

 

Alec strode into the washroom when he heard Cat screaming blue murder to find Magnus trying to wrestle her hair into submission. It was a chore since Cat had taken her hair out of the braids she had sported when they had found her and couldn’t put it back the same way. He took the comb from Magnus with a chuckle.

 

“Let me, I’ve had Izzy teach me a few styles,” Alec said, laughing when Magnus sighed with relief. Looking after Cat had been an eye opener for both of them, Magnus mainly relying on Clary or Becky to do Cat’s hair and make sure she was presentable.

 

Cat eyed Alec warily, her eyes glued to the comb in his hand. She scrunched her head down, screwing her eyes closed as the comb came closer. Alec’s hands were even bigger than Magnus’ and his hair skills weren’t much better, they were both heavy handed with the comb. 

 

She jerked when Alec started to gently tease the ends of her hair with the comb, surprised when he didn’t rip her hair out at the roots. Her eyes fell closed once more, enjoying the slight tug on her hair. It was a whole new experience.

 

“Is that better, little one?” Alec asked quietly as he tugged the comb through Cat’s wild, coarse hair, smoothing it out as best as he could. He looked over her shoulder when he didn’t receive an answer, grinning when he saw the slack-jawed look on her face, her eyes closed as she sighed with what sounded like pleasure.

 

Magnus looked up when he re-entered the washroom with Cat’s night clothes in hand. He stopped short when he saw Cat sitting quietly as Alec combed her hair out. Leaning in the doorway to watch, he couldn’t help smiling at the way Alec’s tongue poked out slightly as he started braiding Cat’s hair. The sight of them had his heart stuttering.

 

Alec crossed the last pieces of hair and tied the ribbon, that cat handed him, around the end. It took him a couple of tries to get it to stay in place but he wanted to perform a victory dance when he let go and it didn't fall out.

 

“It's not as good as Clary's but it will do,” Alec said critically, eyeing his handy work. He looked up to see Magnus watching him with a soft look in his face.

 

“It's really good! Can you do my hair every time, Alec?” Cat asked, running her hands over her hair, marvelling that she still had some left.

 

“Hey, what about me?” Magnus asked as he handed Cat her night clothes, not nearly as disappointed as he was making out.

 

“You tell the best stories!” Cat said with a grin, taking the nightgown Magnus handed her and shooing them out so she could get changed.

 

“You do tell the best stories,” Alec said with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to Magnus’ cheek before wandering into Cat's room to turn her bed down. 

 

Magnus swung Cat up onto his hip when she emerged from the washroom fully dressed for bed and carried her into her room, tucking her into her bed and wrapping the blankets around her. He acquiesced when she asked for the princess and dragon story again.

 

Alec left Magnus to it, returning to the washroom to wash up and scoop Cats clothes up off of the floor, where she had left them. He deposited them in the basket by the front door to take down to the lake in the morning and grabbed a cup of water for her from the jug that Magnus kept on the dining table before returning to catch the end of storytime.

 

“... and the dragon thanked the princess for saving him with a big wet kiss,” Magnus chuckled pressing a sloppy kiss to Cat's cheek, grinning when she swatted at his head before wiping her little blue cheek.

 

“Ugh, Magnus!” Cat yelled, scrubbing at her face, even as she laughed. “Can I have just one more story, then I promise I’ll go to sleep, please?” She asked, trying her luck.

 

“Nuhu, it's way past your bedtime as it is, if I tell you all of my stories now, there won't be any left for tomorrow,” Magnus said, almost laughing at the disappointed frown on her face. “I'll tell you a long one tomorrow,” he promised, leaning forward to kiss her forehead.

 

“Goodnight, little one,” Alec said, striding forward from his place in the doorway to kiss Cat goodnight and place the water by her bed.

 

“Goodnight,” Cat giggled, laughing at the ticklish scratch of Alec's stubble when he kissed her nose. She endured Alec tucking the blankets around her once more as Magnus dimmed his magical light.

 

Alec pulled Magnus up from the edge of Cat's bed and towed him out of the room, firmly closing Cat's door before pulling Magnus into their room and closing their own door.

 

“Every time,” Magnus chuckled as he started pulling his clothes off with a shake of his head. “Always with the bargaining. I swear, she thinks this is a democracy,” he joked.

 

“She’s a good child though, we’re lucky, we haven’t taken a monster in,” Alec said as he kicked his pants and undergarments off and slipped under the blankets. He lay with his hands folded behind his head, watching Magnus take his makeup off.

 

“True, she could have been a lot worse,” Magnus shrugged, scrubbing his eyes with the damp cloth he had produced. “She’s got you wrapped around her little finger,” he muttered with a sly grin as he got right into the corners of his eyes.

 

“Yeah, and she’s got you wrapped around the rest of them,” Alec retorted, turning onto his side and propping his head up on his hand to watch Magnus when his mate sat on the edge of the bed, conceding his point.

 

“Again, true,” Magnus admitted without a hint of embarrassment, he adored her. “What are you staring at?” he asked when he emerged from the cloth to find Alec staring at him with a smug expression on his pretty face.

 

“You,” Alec answered, his eyes roving over Magnus when his Omega chucked the cloth aside and kicked his own undergarments off. He pulled the blankets up, pulling Magnus to him when he climbed beneath them. “I’m wondering how I managed to end up with such a handsome mate.”

 

“I guess you just got lucky,” Magnus said with a shrug, batting his lashes at Alec. His stomach flopped when Alec barked a deep laugh out.

 

“And so humble too!” Alec said through his laughter, silently agreeing with his mate. “I did. Shall I tell you all of the ways I got lucky?” he asked as he skimmed his fingers down Magnus’ ribcage.

 

“If you insist,” Magnus joked, enjoying the shivers that radiated from Alec’s fingers. His stomach flopped harder, jumping around under his skin from the look in Alec’s eyes.

 

“Let me see, you’re kind and compassionate, selfless, and funny,” Alec said, punctuating each trait with a kiss to a different part of Magnus’ face as his hand skimmed down Magnus’ thigh, hitching his mate’s leg up over his hip. “You’re beautiful and giving. You have the sweetest laugh. You take no shit and protect those you love. Hard working…”

 

Magnus cut Alec’s words off by pulling Alec on top of him and slamming his lips to Alec’s, his heart rate soaring. “I think you just described yourself, Alexander,” he said when he came up for air before diving back in. He snapped his fingers, putting a silencing spell on the room.

 

Alec huffed in response but continued to kiss his mate, a small, breathless moan escaping into Magnus’ mouth when Magnus’ legs wrapped around his waist and squeezed.

 

Magnus locked his ankles behind Alec’s back, digging his feet into Alec’s ass to get his Alpha’s hips moving. He used his tight grip to raise his hips off the mattress, rocking against Alec’s already hard dick, his own getting there fast as he opened up for his mate. 

 

Unsure of whether it was the friction of his Alpha’s cock on his own or the tongue invading his mouth, with short, maddeningly teasing licks, Magnus’ knew only that his head was spinning. His eyelids fluttered when Alec’s hands slid under his back, long fingers brushing over his wing scars.

 

Alec gladly held Magnus to him, tracing every millimetre of the ridges of scar tissue on Magnus’ back as Magnus practically hung off of his neck. His head drooped forward when Magnus’ lips left his and found the pulse point in his neck instead as he buried his face in the crook of Magnus’ neck.

 

The sucking, biting kisses on his neck had Alec’s hips moving faster, his grinding turning more insistent the closer Magnus got to his scent glands. The hot breath on the extra sensitive spot had shivers running down his spine. A low growl rumbled through him when he realised Magnus was just as affected as him, as soon as he scented Magnus’ slick.

 

Magnus almost whined at the loss when Alec pulled back, for a split second... until Alec riggled down the bed on his stomach. His fingers combed into Alec’s hair when those pretty lips started to explore his torso. His grip tightened with every open-mouthed kiss to his chest, his ribs, his stomach.

 

Alec listened to the short, panting gasps escaping Magnus at every touch, revelling in the scent and warmth of his mate. He licked into the crevices between every muscle on Magnus’ stomach, wanting to taste every inch. His tongue danced down, swirling through the fine, barely visible hairs on Magnus’ abdomen, grinning against the hot, golden skin when Magnus wriggled.

 

A moan, one of desperation, poured from Magnus’ mouth when Alec ignored his dick. It turned to one of intense pleasure when Alec’s lips found his inner thigh instead. His thighs shook as spasms ran through him when Alec sucked on the sensitive skin there.

 

“Fuck! I’m so fucking hard,” Magnus mumbled, trying to concentrate through the sensations rippling over his skin.

 

“Touch yourself,” Alec said, watching Magnus’ head jerked up, his mate propping himself up on one elbow to look down at him as he continued to suck a trail of kisses into Magnus’ inner thighs, alternating between them. His dick twitched against the mattress when Magnus looked him in the eye as he reached for his dick.

 

Alec pushed Magnus’ thighs open wider, watching every movement of Magnus’ hand and the way his Omega’s eyes screwed shut before his head fell back with pleasure. He moved closer to his goal, licking a stripe up Magnus’ crack, savouring the taste as he licked up over his balls.

 

The digging in his back, as Magnus’ legs draped over his shoulders had Alec doing it again, tracing the line back down and dipping the tip of his tongue into Magnus’ dripping hole. The taste of his mate exploded on his tongue, causing his own eyelids to droop closed. He pushed further into Magnus’ ass, grazing the sensitive skin with his teeth when the pitch of Magnus’ moans rose.

 

Magnus could barely breathe, fighting to drag oxygen into his lungs from his own hand, jerking his dick how he liked it with short, quick jerks around the head and Alec’s skilled tongue, fucking him in earnest now. He automatically clenched around the tongue in his ass, wanting to take it in further and keep it there.

 

“Alexander, I’m gonna cum,” Magnus muttered, unable to stop his hand from moving faster. He tried to hold it back until Alec pulled his tongue out of his ass.

 

“Cum then,” Alec said before going back to eating Magnus like the ten-course meal he was. He pushed his tongue back in, not giving a fuck about the mess on his chin as he swirled his tongue around Magnus’ rim and sucked on the tight, sensitive muscle.

 

Magnus grunted when he shot his load all over his stomach, the pleasure too consuming to hold back. He writhed on Alec’s tongue, flopping back onto the mattress to free his other hand up. He jerked himself through his release with one hand while using the other to try and pull Alec closer by his hair, wanting him in his ass.

 

Alec happily obliged the insistent hand in his hair, parting Magnus’ cheeks further to get better access. The deeper he went, the more slick Magnus produced. He licked into his mate, again and again, listening to Magnus fight for breath. Magnus’ ragged breathing mingled with his own jerky breaths beautifully.

 

Magnus continued to jerk himself when his cock refused to go limp, staying half hard. He went slower this time, languid, tight strokes that slowly brought him back to full hardness.

 

Alec pulled his tongue out of Magnus’ ass when the tugging on his hair turned more insistent. He went when Magnus dragged him up by his hair, dragging his tongue up over Magnus’ balls and the underside of his hard cock, grumbling his approval, up the centre of Magnus’ stomach, straight through the cum that was slowly dripping down the sides of his perfectly toned stomach.

 

Magnus’ grip turned tighter when Alec’s tongue continued to lick up the middle of his sternum and over his Adam's apple before he pushed into Alec’s mouth when their lips met. He moaned at the taste of himself, at the insistence of Alec’s tongue, at the weight of his Alpha pressing into his stomach and between his thighs.

 

The perfect friction of Alec’s dick, sawing through the crack of his ass, had Magnus’ own hips moving faster, positive that he would never get enough of Alec in the eternity allocated to them. He reached between their bodies as he fought Alec for dominance, winning when he wrapped his fingers around Alec’s hard dick.

 

Alec fucked into Magnus’ hand, his own desperate moans rising unchecked. He surrendered the fight when Magnus stopped jerking him and guided the head of his dick to his still dripping asshole. He started his rhythm again, teasing the head in and out of Magnus’ tight hole as Magnus held him in place.

 

“Deeper. Fuck me, Alexander,” Magnus moaned against Alec’s lips, tilting his hips further so Alec could push further into him. His breath stuttered out in short gasps as Alec’s dick stretched him open, his dick throbbing at the sound of pure, unadulterated pleasure hissing from between Alec’s lips.

 

“Just like that,” Alec murmured when Magnus’ rim squeezed his dick. His hips jerked forward instinctively, filling Magnus completely and bottoming out. He stopped moving when his hips met Magnus’, his balls slapping against Magnus’ ass cheeks.

 

Magnus lifted his right leg, draping it over Alec’s shoulder, sighing with pleasure when Alec wrapped an arm around it and pressed biting kisses into his calf. The stretch on his leg and the tilt of his hips when Alec leant forward with a fist on either side of his head had Alec stretching him further.

 

Alec started to pump his hips, pulling back further and burying himself deeper with each thrust. He stared into Magnus’ eyes as both of their breathing picked up again, losing himself in the beautiful amber irises and slitted black pupils.

 

“Beautiful,” Alec murmured, unable and unwilling to filter his thoughts. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he said breathlessly as his hips sped up. He worked himself into a frenzy, too lost in his mate to control himself.

 

Alec’s pace was more than alright with Magnus, it was everything. He reached up, curling his hand around the back of Alec’s neck and pulled his mate down, letting his leg fall off of Alec’s shoulder and drape over his arm instead as he pushed into Alec’s mouth. 

 

Alec’s hips rocked harder into Magnus when his mate claimed his mouth, grinding into his mate’s ass with every thrust. He pulled Magnus’ bottom lip into his mouth when Magnus’ moans turned to whimpers, knowing he was hitting Magnus’ spot.

 

Alec’s balls started to draw up when he heard the short, desperate whimpers Magnus was making, the sounds absolute perfection. Magnus’ voice was soft at the best of times but this, the hot bursts of breath on his face with each mewling noise that came from each of his thrusts, it was like a symphony to his ears.

 

“Fuck, Magnus, I’m gonna cum,” Alec muttered, his thrusts becoming sloppier and less controllable by the minute as it came on.

 

“Cum in me,” Magnus cried, his eyes rolling back in his head from the constant pressure on his prostate.

 

That was all the invitation Alec needed, burying his face in Magnus’ shoulder to muffle his cries of ecstasy, exploding deep in Magnus ass as his hips stuttered to a stop for a moment. His balls jerked into Magnus’ tight ass. He started moving again with barely a moment to recover, wanting Magnus to cum again and knowing that he was close.

 

Magnus jerked his hips up, meeting Alec thrust for thrust as pleasure curled through him, Alec’s dick, still hard for now, scraping the perfect pleasure tinged torture along his prostate. He hung on when Alec’s hand darted down and tugged him to release, the pressure on the head of his dick and his nerves lighting up was enough to push him over again.

 

Alec claimed Magnus’ moan when his Omega came between them, taking the sound into his own mouth as Magnus came all over his hand. He gave Magnus’ dick a few more tugs before his mate, jerking beneath him, had taken all he could take.

 

Magnus nuzzled into Alec’s neck, trying to get his breath back as he took Alec’s calming scent in. He pouted his lips out, grinning against Alec’s sweat-sheened skin when Alec did the same, kissing his collarbone. 

 

“I love you,” Magnus murmured when Alec pulled back, brushing his thumb over Alec’s bottom lip as he stared into those penetrating, beautiful hazel eyes.

 

“I love you too,” Alec whispered, pouting his lips out to kiss the pad of Magnus’ thumb. He rolled his hips back, his softening cock sliding from Magnus’ ass. He brushed a thumb over Magnus’ eyebrow when his mate winced, straightening Magnus’ eyebrows out before he flopped down right there, content to bury his face in Magnus’ firm chest and lay between his thighs.

 

Magnus held Alec to him, running his fingers through Alec’s hair and tracing small patterns into his Alpha’s scalp, content to just be with him.

 

Alec snuggled further into Magnus’ full body embrace when Magnus cleaned them up with a wave of his hand. He continued to press small kisses into Magnus’ chest and stomach until his eyelids started to droop and Magnus’ fingers stilled.

 

Alec lay smiling when Magnus’ breath slowed right down and deepened. The sound had him doing the same, falling asleep where he was with a smile on his face, one that he would have seen mirrored on Magnus’ face, if he had been awake to see it.

  
  



	17. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks. I will be taking a few days off over Christmas, to spend some time with my family (which I never do enough of because I'm a terrible daughter) I'll try to post the next chapter before the new year.
> 
> I'll be posting the sweetest, most sickeningly fluffy Malec Christmas fic tomorrow so be sure to check it out!
> 
> Happy holidays to all of those who are celebrating and a happy couple of days off if you aren't, see you before the new year!

Cat woke up when the sun started shining weakly through her window. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and immediately produced a bowlful of fruit, oats and milk to soothe her aching stomach, having not eaten for what must have been hours! The fact that she was still in bed did nothing to dampen her enthusiasm for food.

 

She shovelled it down as fast as she could, once again grateful that she would never have to go hungry again. The scraping of her spoon against the bottom of the empty bowl had her wondering if she was too full for a second bowl before scrapping the idea. She looked down at the bowl before sending it away with a shrug.

 

Climbing from her bed, Cat decided that Alec and Magnus must be hungry as well. She wandered into the washroom and went through her morning routine before padding out through the living room to their bedroom.

 

Cat pushed the door open, giggling quietly when she heard the snores coming from the bed, it was practically night time already, they should be up!

 

“Wake up, it’s breakfast time!” Cat cried, running forward and divebombing the sleeping pair. She couldn’t help but giggle when Alec almost jumped out of bed with a shout, his runes glowing as he clutched the blanket to him. “It’s just me, silly. Stop growling,” she laughed.

 

Alec scrubbed his hand over his face, blinking down at Cat crawling all over his and Magnus’ legs. He woke up fully, his eyes widening when he realised her intention was to get in the bed with them. Placing one hand on her head to stop her forward motion, he elbowed Magnus furiously.

 

“Yeah yeah, ’m on it,” Magnus mumbled into his pillow, waving his hand and dressing him and Alec in some underclothes, under the blankets. It wasn’t the first time Cat had woken him like this and he was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last. He rolled back over and closed his eyes, more than ready to go back to sleep.

 

“Whatcha doing?” Cat asked when Alec let go of her head and she crawled under the warm blankets with him and Magnus, snuggling down between them when Alec flopped back down.

 

“I  _ was _ sleeping,” Alec grumbled, wondering if Cat would lie quietly so he could grab another hour of sleep. Of course, he had no such luck. He opened one eye back up when he felt a weight on his chest, to look Cat directly in the eye. Directly.

 

“You look tired,” Cat said, inspecting Alec’s eyeball, three millimetres from her own. She poked his eyelid open when he tried to close it again. “Why do you have hairs on your chest but Magnus doesn’t?” she asked, pulling at the hairs.

 

“Because,” Alec said, batting Cat’s hand away before closing his eyes again. 

 

“Because what?” Cat asked, pulling at Alec’s ears when he went back to ignoring her again. She huffed in irritation when Alec moaned and tried to roll over, stuffing his head under the pillow. “Alec. Alec. Alec. wake up!” she chanted.

 

“Talk to Magnus,” Alec grumbled, elbowing Cat off of him when she persisted in poking his back and shoulders.

 

“Are you hungry, Magnus?” Cat asked when Alec shoved her off, draping herself over Magnus instead to give him her full attention. “Want some breakfast? You can have anything you want with one wave of my hand,” she said, wiggling her fingers against Magnus’ cheek.

 

“I want more sleep,” Magnus muttered, batting Cat’s hands away from his face as he squeezed his eyes shut.

 

“But you must be starving!” Cat said, shaking Magnus’ shoulders until he turned to her with a deep sigh.

 

“Sure, I’m ravenous, my dear,” Magnus said, knowing that more sleep would be impossible. He shook Alec’s shoulder, refusing to be the only one who had to wake up at the crack of dawn. Literally. The sun was barely up. 

 

“Just a little longer, please,” Alec begged, uncaring of the desperation in his tone. He growled low in the back of his throat when the bed started bouncing. Or more accurately, when Cat started bouncing. “Fine, I’m awake,” he sighed, emerging from his pillow.

 

“Good, you can have breakfast with us,” Cat grinned when both Magnus and Alec sat up against the wooden headboard of their bed. She sat up too and waved her hands, beaming with pride when a couple of trays appeared on Magnus and Alec’s laps, filled with, juice and her oat/milk/fruit combination. Another wave had a small bowl of the same appearing in her outstretched hand.

 

“Is there any particular reason you are waking us up so early, little one?” Magnus asked as he started eating, fixing the bland oats to his own taste with some honey when he ate the first mouthful. He noted that Alec didn’t seem to have any problem with his breakfast, his mate shovelling his food down.

 

“Yes! I missed us spending time together and we won’t see Alec for ages when you have to have your heat, we only have a few days left,” Cat said between huge mouthfuls of her second breakfast.

 

“We can do something together if you want but I have to get back to my own realm this afternoon, I have patrol later,” Alec said, smiling when Cat’s face lit up.

 

“Can we explore the forest?” Cat asked, bouncing with excitement. She jumped up and clambered over the bed at top speed when Magnus and Alec agreed.

 

“Where are you going?” Magnus asked, unable to hold back his laugh when Cat almost walked into the log wall as she looked over her shoulder instead of where she was going.

 

“To get the others. We can have a family day out!” Cat said before darting out of the door, snapping her fingers along the way to dress herself. She had no time to lose!

 

“Do you think it will take them long enough to get ready that we can get some more sleep?” Alec asked when Magnus sent their bowls away and snuggled into his side. He turned on his side and sighed contentedly when Magnus’ lips found his chest.

 

“Probably not. Not if Cat has any say in the matter,” Magnus sighed, tightening his hold on Alec for a moment. The kiss in his hair and the tightening of Alec’s arms was too nice to give up. But Cat would be back any moment. “Come on, she’ll only nag us until we get up.”

 

They dressed quickly, pulling on the clothes that Magnus rustled up for them and took their glasses of juice out onto the porch.

 

“I take it your sister isn’t a morning person?” Magnus asked when Cat dragged a tired looking Isabelle out of hers and Simon’s cabin by her hand, followed by an equally tired looking Simon. A grin split his face when Izzy shook her wings out and ruffled her feathers in the cool morning air.

 

“No! But nobody can say no to Cat,” Alec chuckled as his sister and Simon joined them. “Where are Jace and Clary?” he asked when Cat skipped up the steps.

 

“They didn’t want to come, they said they were flying all night and that they wanted to be alone,” Cat pouted, rolling her eyes when Magnus and Izzy stood exchanging glances and giggling.  _ Adults are weird! _

 

“Wait, more sleep was an option?” Simon groaned, his eyes going wide when everyone else laughed as Cat shouted “no”.

 

“Come on! Let's go,” Cat said, unfurling her wings. She was eager to explore the forest and see what delights awaited them. She took off, grinning when everyone else followed with a flapping of wings.

 

“Sorry, she was just excited,” Magnus said to Izzy as they rose into the air and followed Cat towards the treeline, feeling bad that Cat had dragged her and Simon out of bed.

 

“It’s fine, we haven't really had a chance to look around for ourselves anyway,” Izzy said, smiling as she thought about the way Cat had burst into the cabin like a whirlwind and jumped on their bed until they got up.

 

“Well, I’m sure it’s not what you had planned for today,” Magnus said as they passed over the lake and landed on the far shore, dutifully following in Cat’s wake.

 

“Not quite, I had planned on getting to know Simon a little better,” Izzy said with a wink, a beaming smile crossing her face when Magnus started laughing. She loved Magnus already, he was easy to get along with and he made her brother happy. He was great at fashion advice and was witty and charming, making the demon easy to love.

 

“We got to know each other last night but I wouldn’t have minded a better introduction today,” Izzy whispered. She grinned when she saw the look of surprise on Magnus’ face. “Believe me, I was exhausted but three days of constant need will put a woman on the edge. Trust me, after your heat, you won’t be able to drag yourself off him. I suggest leaving Cat in Edom for a day or two when it’s over.”

 

“When what’s over?” Alec asked, overhearing the last of Izzy’s words. He frowned when Magnus and Izzy burst out laughing, seeing that Simon looked just as confused.

 

“I’ll tell you later, lover,” Magnus said, winking at his mate before striding forward to see where Cat had gotten to, leaving the other’s to follow in his wake.

 

“Don’t ask me,” Simon said when Alec raised an eyebrow in his direction. He followed after Izzy and Magnus with a shrug.

 

“What are you doing, Catarina?” Magnus called up to Cat when he found her hovering near the branches of one of the trees.

 

“I’m trying to look at the squirrels but they are hiding,” Cat yelled, trying to coax a squirrel out from it’s hiding place. She looked up when Magnus joined her.

 

“If you want it to come out, you’re going to have to be a little quieter,” Magnus whispered. Cat was sweet and cute and loving… and noisy. “They are probably terrified of your big mouth and heavy feet,” he said, taking her hand.

 

Cat let Magnus lead her back down to the ground. She retracted her wings and sat in his lap when Magnus sat cross-legged on the ground and patted his legs.

 

“Watch,” Magnus whispered. He situated Cat in his lap and snapped his fingers, producing a handful of nuts and seeds and waited. 

 

Alec was grinning like an idiot when a couple of squirrels finally gained the courage to come and investigate. He could see the almighty battle Cat was having with herself, fighting every urge to squeal with delight when one particularly bold squirrel darted up Magnus’ leg and took some of the food from his hands.

 

Cat had to clamp her hands to her knees to stop from trying to stroke the squirrel’s fluffy tail. She grinned when a second squirrel joined the first, also taking some of the nuts. A wave of disappointment radiated through her when the animals had decided they had gotten enough and ran away.

 

“See, you have to wait patiently and quietly…” Magnus trailed off when Cat jumped up and started running around the trees, shouting about how close the squirrels had been. “... for them to come to you,” he finished with an indulgent shake of his head.

 

“It was nice while it lasted,” Alec said as he pulled Magnus up off the ground, laughing at the way his mate was grumbling under his breath. He kept hold of Magnus’ hand as they followed Cat, happy to let her plot a course for them all.

 

“Are you okay?” Simon asked as he took Izzy’s hand in his own when he saw her lost in thought.

 

“Yes, just thinking,” Izzy said with a tight smile. She moved a little closer to Simon as they walked, following the others a little more slowly. She looked up, seeing the patient, curious expression on her mate’s face.

 

“About what it would be like to have a child. She finds joy in the simplest of things. A squirrel, eating out of Magnus’ hand was enough to spark wonder and happiness in her,” Izzy clarified, her eyes finding Cat, running from tree to tree or hovering above the ground when the excitement became too much. “I see how happy she makes Alec and Magnus and…”

 

“And you think a child would do the same for us?” Simon asked. He stroked his thumb over Izzy’s when he saw the struggle on her face. “Maybe they would, maybe fifty children or one would make us that happy. But I know, even if we can never have that, I will be just as happy with you by my side,” he said. As much as he would love a family with Izzy someday, he could be happy with just the two of them, if that was what fate had in store for them.

 

“I just hate the fact that our choices have been taken away from us. I could make peace with it... if it was our choice to remain childless but whenever I saw my future, I always pictured a family. A mate that I could be with, our children surrounding us,” Izzy said. She looked up when she heard the intake of breath.

 

“I didn’t mean anything by it. It is just not what I had envisioned. I wouldn’t change you for all the family in the world, you are my Alpha. I just hate that we don’t have the freedom’s that other’s of our species don’t give a second thought to,” Izzy assured Simon.

 

“Maybe one day it will be different. An eternity is a long time, Iz,” Simon said, wrapping his arm around his Omega’s shoulder. He understood the need Izzy felt, the desire for a family but it wasn’t something that was on the table right now. He took hope from the fact that the future wasn’t certain.

 

Izzy shook herself off when Cat skipped to her side and took her hand. She laughed when Cat started tugging her forward, taking Simon’s hand and pulling him after them.

 

“You have to see what I’ve found,” Cat yelped, pulling Izzy and Simon to the creek she had stumbled upon. “There are lots of fish and some frogs and slimy water snakes,” she said.

 

**

 

Alec found it convenient that Jace and Clary joined them, just as Simon and Magnus had conjured them all a picnic lunch, after hours of exploring the forest. He shook his head when they touched down in the small meadow they had found quite by accident.

 

“Finally decided to drag yourselves out of bed did you?” Alec asked, taking the plate of meat, bread and cheese Magnus handed him. “And just in time for food,” he muttered around a mouthful of the bread.

 

“We couldn’t miss the food,” Jace grinned, taking a seat next to his brother and pulling Clary down with him. His eyes lit up when she snapped her fingers and added to the food the other’s were eating. He snagged a bunch of grapes and shared them with her. 

 

“What have you all been doing all morning?” Clary asked as she sank back into Jace’s chest. She wasn’t prepared for the whirlwind response from Cat.

 

“We fed the squirrels and we explored the creek and we tried to catch the frogs and me and Alec climbed in the trees and we flew for a bit and we followed a pig and then we came for dinner!” Cat beamed. 

 

“We’ve had a busy morning,” Magnus said, smiling at Clary’s stunned expression.

 

“Clearly! Did you leave any fun activities to do with us?” Clary asked.

 

“We can go flying!” Cat said, hoping for another chance to stretch her wings. She was finding that she could fly for longer periods of time the more she flew. She finished her dinner and jumped up, deciding to pick some of the flowers in the meadow.

 

“Did you guys have a nice “lie in”?” Izzy asked with a smirk, turning her gaze on Clary and Jace. She had to laugh when Clary’s cheeks glowed almost as brightly as her eyes. She hadn’t taken Clary for a blusher. Of course, Jace had no problem meeting her gaze.

 

“Yes, we had several “lie in’s” I wanted to have another one but Clary said we were being rude,” Jace grinned. “What? We did,” he said when Clary elbowed him in the ribs. He curled an arm around her waist, pulling her closer so he could press kisses to her neck.

 

“Behave, Jace,” Clary said, enjoying Jace’s lips on her neck more than she was willing to let on. They _ had  _ had several “lie in’s” but the rest of them didn’t need to know about it. She looked up when Cat wandered back over with an armful of flowers, turning to Jace and giving him a warning look.

 

Jace rolled his eyes. He didn’t need to be told to keep their morning activities to himself while Cat was around. He looked up, surprised when Cat held out a small bunch of flowers to him.

 

“You have to give some of these to Clary because girls like it when boys give them flowers,” Cat whispered in Jace’s ear, separating some of his flowers out and nodding until he handed them over. “And you get to keep some for yourself because boys are allowed flowers too,” she whispered.

 

Magnus watched with amusement as Jace held his flowers, the blonde was actually blushing. Jace, cocky, brash, with a tongue that could give a demon a run for their money, was blushing from being given a bunch of flowers!

 

Magnus took the flowers that Cat held out to him, noting that most of them were weeds, and gave her a wink. He took one of the dandelions and threaded it behind Alec’s ear, smiling when he saw it there in Alec’s black hair. “Beautiful,” he whispered.

 

“Not as beautiful as you,” Alec said, selecting a daffodil and holding it out to Magnus. He grinned when Magnus accepted it and sniffed it, thinking that maybe he would pick Magnus a huge bunch next time he saw his mate.

 

Cat laughed when Simon bounded up and held his hands out, she handed all of her flowers over, giggling when Simon presented them to Izzy like they were the greatest gift in the world. She sat down with Izzy when Izzy beckoned her with a finger.

 

Izzy sat Cat down in front of her and started to thread flowers through Cat’s braid, enjoying the weight of the child in her lap and the way Cat almost bounced with excitement. She wrapped her arms around Cat and pressed a kiss to the girl's cheek when she had finished.

 

“You look beautiful, Catarina,” Magnus said when he saw Cat’s tentative fingers brush through her hair and the beaming smile on her face, thinking of how sweet Izzy was with her.

 

“Thank you,” Cat said, to Magnus and Izzy. She climbed to her feet and unfurled her wings once more. “Izzy, Simon, can we go flying now?” she asked hopefully.

 

“Of course we can, little one,” Simon said, unable to resist the way Cat took his hand and looked at him and his mate with wide, hopeful eyes. 

 

“Will you come with us?” Cat asked Clary and Jace, grinning in triumph when they both stood up, she was looking forward to watching them all dance.

 

“Be careful and stay close to the others. If you get tired, you must tell one of them, okay?” Alec asked, waiting for Cat to agree before he accepted the hug that she wanted to give him and Magnus. She had a tendency to believe her capabilities were beyond what she could actually manage and while he refused to quash that belief, he still didn’t want her falling out of the air due to exhaustion.

 

“Have fun, and be good,” Magnus said, giving Cat an extra squeeze and a kiss on her cheek before he let her go. His stomach fluttered when Cat nodded before bending her knees and taking off, he missed her already.

  
  


**

 

There was a quiet sadness to the four demons who stood outside of their cabins, watching Alec, Izzy and Jace rise into the air to return to their own realm.

 

“Does it ever get any easier?” Simon asked, his gaze fixed on the rose-gold blur that was disappearing fast. His goodbyes were getting harder and harder to say, the more time he spent with Izzy. Alec had been right, he hated those moments and spent every minute in between waiting for that moment he got to say hello again.

 

“No, it gets harder every time,” Clary said. “It was worse when I had nobody to talk to about it. That’s why I hid from you guys so much when Jace and I met. I knew you would both pick up on it, on how miserable I was without him every time I returned to Edom,” she said with a small smile, grateful that she had other people that understood what it was like, even if it meant that they had to suffer the same as she was. 

 

Magnus was watching his own mate. It never got easier, he wasn’t sure he would ever get used to having to say goodbye to Alec. Knowing that every hello would end with a goodbye only made it worse. He looked down when he heard a snuffling to see the tears that Cat was trying her best to hide.

 

“Come on, little one,” Magnus said, picking Cat up and letting her bury her face in his neck. He sometimes forgot that she missed Alec almost as much as he did. “Do you need to get anything before we go?” he asked.

 

Cat shook her head as she took deep breaths. She tried to brave when Alec had to leave them but it was always scary and sad and she missed him a lot. She hated the unfairness of it. If Alec had never come along, she didn’t know what would have become of her. She would never have met Magnus and would have been alone, trying to look after herself.

 

“We’ll see them again tomorrow,” Clary said. She gave Cat a pat on the back, sharing a look with Magnus before she opened a portal for them and lead the way. “Maybe we could explore a little bit more, would you like that?” she asked when they all cleared the portal and started heading for the palace.

 

“Yes please,” Cat said, brightening slightly at the prospect of being able to see more of the forest. The morning had been fun, especially seeing all of the animals and being able to soar through the clouds. She had loved it when Clary and Jace had danced with her in the air and Simon and Izzy’s “mating dance”, whatever one of those were, had been beautiful.

 

“Maybe we could have a look through the caves on the east side of the mountain, there are a lot of them,” Clary said, smiling when Cat pulled her head out of Magnus’ neck, her eyes wide with curiosity.

 

“And we could take a picnic with us. We can sit on the highest mountain and look out over the mortal realm as we eat our dinner,” Simon added, smiling when Cat seemed to cheer up some more, funnily enough, at the mention of food.

 

“There, see. We will have fun tomorrow, little one,” Magnus said, patting Cat on the back as the palace came into view. “Just a few hours and we will be together again,” he whispered, to himself as much as the child in his arms. He landed in the courtyard when they cleared the wall and led them all through the front doors, heading for his quarters. 

 

They had barely taken a dozen steps before a familiar voice, one he hadn’t been expecting to hear for another three or four days at least, had Magnus’ blood turning to ice. He stopped in his tracks, Simon and Clary almost walking right into him, before he turned on his heel to look her dead in the eye, already wanting to smack the smirk off of her face.

 

“Magnus, it’s been decades, my love. Did you miss me?” Camille asked when all eyes turned to her.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I genuinely despise Camille with every cell that makes up my body! I already want to give her a swift kick in the tits!


	18. The Unwelcome Guest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my dears, Happy New Year to you all!

It took Magnus a minute to gain his composure as he stared into those familiar brown eyes. Eyes that had haunted his dreams on far too many occasions for his liking. First as something unattainable, then as something he quickly grew to love, then as something that wouldn’t let him be, no matter how much he wished it would be so.

 

Magnus’ grip on Cat tightened when Camille took a step closer, holding her closer, in part because he didn’t want Camille anywhere near Cat and in part because he needed to ground himself, to pull himself out of the hole that was trying to swallow him just from the sound of her voice and the sulphuric, sultry, dizzying scent that emanated from her.

 

_ Every time! Every time I put her behind me, try to get over her and almost succeed, she worms her way back in with her words and her smiles and the false promises and reassurances she utters like they belong on her tongue. _

 

“Did you miss me, darling?” Camille asked again when Magnus didn’t answer her question, taking another step forward, her nostrils flaring at the odd combination of scents emanating from the group. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to work out what the mixture of scents was.

 

Camille’s eyes glided over her ex-lover and over the child that was in his arms. She didn’t miss the way his hold on the girl tightened, storing the movement away for further inspection at a later time.

 

“Miss is a strong word. What are you doing here?” Magnus asked, trying to keep himself calm for Cat’s sake and extremely aware of the way his friends were staring at him, he could feel their eyes glued to his back. And he could practically hear the way Clary’s eyes narrowed and Simon’s lips pulled back over his teeth. It was the reaction they had every time they saw Camille.

 

“I couldn’t wait to see you, of course, so we returned early,” Camille said, her lips curving up into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. She didn’t like the hostility practically rolling off of Magnus and his sidekicks. 

 

“This must be Katrina?” Camille asked, turning her attention to the child. She looked the child over, her smile widening when the girl tucked her head into Magnus’ neck, she certainly hadn’t missed the look of fear that had flitted across the child's little blue face. “Your father told me that you had taken a stray in. Where is her family?”

 

“Don’t concern yourself, Camille, Catarina is just fine,” Magnus said, almost snarling the words. He didn’t like the way Camille was looking at Cat. Not for a minute was he convinced that Camille was concerned about Cat in the slightest. He looked over Camille’s shoulder when he heard the tapping of a cane against stone.

 

“I am sure Camille is just concerned for the girl’s welfare, there’s no need to be rude to our guest, Magnus,” Asmodeus said as he strode down the corridor, his eyes taking in the way Magnus and his friends were glaring at Camille. It had his eyes narrowing at them.

 

“If you will excuse us,” Magnus said, turning his back on his father and Camille, more than ready to escape to his quarters.

 

“We will be hosting a welcome dinner for Camille tonight, I expect you to dress accordingly,” Asmodeus said to Magnus’ retreating back, his eyes flashing in response when Magnus turned to glare at him, his son’s eyes flashing brightly in the torchlit corridor.

 

“No thank you, I already have plans for tonight,” Magnus breathed, the words barely audible through his anger.

 

“It wasn’t a request, my darling boy,” Asmodeus said, his tone sharp when he heard Camille’s indrawn breath. He could feel the annoyance radiating off of her in waves. He gave his son the look, warning him not to piss Camille off. They still hadn’t come to an agreement and he had hoped that she would accept his offer if she got to spend some time in Edom.

 

Magnus turned on his heel and stormed down the corridor, escaping his father and Camille. His vision had all but turned red. He looked down when he heard a frightened squeak, reigning his anger in when he realised red sparks were shooting up and down his arms.

 

“I’m sorry, little one, did I hurt you?” Magnus asked, pressing his lips to Cat’s forehead as his grip on her tightened a little, her arms wrapping around his shoulders.

 

“No. I don’t like her, Magnus, she’s mean. For someone so pretty, she sure seems ugly,” Cat mumbled into Magnus’ neck. “Does she think I’m a pet too?” she asked. The lady had stared at her with what had looked like irritation.

 

“Pay Camille no mind, my dear. It doesn’t matter what she thinks. She will be gone soon,” Magnus said, wondering just how long it would take for her to get the message. He waved his hand as he approached the double doors to his quarters, striding through them when they opened for him. He turned to his friends when they all entered his living room.

 

“I thought she wasn’t supposed to get here for another three days?” Clary asked, starting to pace the floor as anger spiked through her. It was one thing to know Asmodeus wanted to mate Magnus off, it was another thing entirely to see him parading Camille around like she was some sort of tempting gift.

 

“So did I. Simon, will you have Cat for me tonight?” Magnus asked. He shook his head at Cat when he saw the protest on her face. “I don’t want you around her, Catarina. It is my job to protect you and she is not a nice person.”

 

“I’ll ask my mother if she can stay there. There’s no way you’re facing those two alone,” Simon said, taking Cat from Magnus when he saw his friend’s agitation. “Clary and I will both be there, it isn’t up for discussion,” he said. He already knew that Magnus was going to try to refuse him.

 

“Okay, thank you,” Magnus said after thinking about it for a moment, he could see it was pointless arguing and if he was honest with himself, he needed their support. “He actually thinks I’m going to mate her, doesn’t he?” he asked, anger once again rising.

 

“He has obviously lost his mind,” Simon said. He snapped his fingers and summoned some of Cat’s clothes. “I’ll take Cat over now and get changed then I’ll be back,” he said, letting Cat get down.

 

“Be careful, Magnus,” Cat said, dashing forward to wrap her arms around Magnus' waist. She buried her face in his stomach when his arms came around her, fighting her tears back. She hated that Magnus seemed to be so upset.

 

“Don’t worry about me, little one. Have fun with Elaine and be a good girl,” Magnus said, smiling when Cat let go and nodded up at him. He knelt down and pressed kisses to Cat’s cheeks when he saw her unshed tears. “I’ll be fine, I promise,” he whispered.

 

“Thank your mother for me,” Magnus said when he rose, giving Simon’s shoulder a squeeze before turning to Clary. “You should go and get changed too, biscuit, we all smell of angel.”

 

“You shouldn’t be left alone while she is here,” Clary protested, more than happy change with a snap of her fingers.

 

“I’ll be fine. I need some time to think anyway,” Magnus said with a small smile. Truth be told, he wanted a moment alone. He was on the verge of freaking out and didn’t want them to see if he couldn’t get a hold of himself, even if they wouldn’t judge him for it.

 

Magnus waved them all off before turning to the washroom, knowing he needed to wash the scent of his Alpha off of him.  _ Just keep busy, don’t think about it. Just get through her visit as best as you can. _

 

**

 

Magnus was fixing his hair in place with a final wave of his hand and adjusting his tunic when Clary and Simon walked back through his living room door.

 

“I see you “dressed accordingly”. Your father is going to have a fit,” Clary chuckled when she saw Magnus in his blandest outfit, not an embellishment in sight. It seemed the three of them had had the same idea, all of them wearing protective battle leathers instead of fancier clothes that would be suitable for a state visit with the ruler of another realm.

 

“I was toying with the idea of donning a black veil,” Magnus shrugged, not giving two fucks what his father thought of his plain black tunic and pants combination. His hair and makeup were done to perfection. 

 

Edom would freeze over before Magnus gave Camille the satisfaction of seeing how much she affected him, but if they thought her appearance warranted him putting his best outfit on, they could think again. 

 

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Magnus said, smoothing down his tunic once more before squaring his shoulders and leading the way. He hadn’t missed the way Clary and Simon had also worn their plainest clothes or that they no longer smelled of their mates.

 

“I will happily beat her to death if she tries anything, you know that, right?” Clary asked, linking her arm through Magnus’ as they made their way through the palace to the ostentatious dining hall.

 

“I’ll hold her arms behind her back,” Simon added, grinning at the vision of a helpless Camille that flitted before his eyes. The real thing stood staring at him when they rounded the last corner, Camille wearing a long, bright red beaded gown with a plunging neckline and a thigh split that left nothing to the imagination.

 

Magnus glared at Camille as they approached her, taking in the red gown and her long brown hair, piled up on her head. A frown pulled his eyebrows down into a thin line when she looked at him imperiously, holding her arm out. He tightened his grip on Clary’s arm when she stiffened at his side before his head whipped in Simon’s direction.

 

“Allow me to escort you to dinner, Camille,” Simon said when he darted past Magnus and Clary and took hold of Camille’s outstretched arm with a shudder, knowing full well that she was expecting Magnus to do it. “How was your journey? So fortunate that you didn’t take a wrong turn on your way here,” he asked.

 

Magnus and Clary had to fight back the laugh that wanted to burst from each of them when Simon all but dragged a furious looking Camille into the dining room ahead of them. They followed the pair, Clary having to hide her grin behind her hand when Camille glared at them over her shoulder.

 

Camille fought her snarl down when Simon dragged her over to a chair on the right-hand side of the table and unceremoniously shoved her down into it before ramming her into the table when he shoved her chair beneath her. 

 

“Watch my gown you fool,” Camille muttered when Simon ran over her dress with the chair legs. She could hear the crunching of beads as he rammed her into the table, almost winding her in his haste to see her to her seat. She exchanged a look with Asmodeus where he sat to her right, at the head of the table.

 

“I said we were holding a welcome dinner, not a party for half of Edom to attend,” Asmodeus said when he saw Clary and Simon, silently fuming at their clothing choices. He shook his head at Magnus when his son went to take a seat at the other end of the long table, big enough to seat twenty and pointed to the chair next to Camille instead.

 

“Oh, I’m sure there’s enough food to go around. What could be more welcoming than a large party?” Magnus asked, ignoring his father’s suggestion of sitting next to Camille and choosing the opposite side of the table to her. He escorted Clary to his father’s left-hand side and pulled a chair out for her, pushing it beneath her gently. Much gentler than Simon had been with Camille.

 

Asmodeus almost snarled at Simon when the younger demon took the chair next to Camille, the one he had intended for Magnus. He fought it back and replaced his scowl with a gracious smile when Magnus took the seat on Clary’s other side, sitting opposite Simon.

 

Magnus stared at his father. Whatever look Asmodeus was trying to pull off, it wasn’t working. Asmodeus looked like he was an inch from strangling Simon to death. He settled into his chair next to Clary, grateful to have her sitting between him and his father.

 

“Is Katrina not joining us?” Camille asked, accepting the goblet of wine Asmodeus had a servant pour for her as she looked around the table.

 

“Catarina is staying with a friend,” Magnus said, narrowing his eyes at Camille, across the table. He was pretty sure she was mispronouncing Cat’s name on purpose.

 

“What a shame, I was looking forward to getting to know her better,” Camille said with a small laugh, flashing a wide smile around the table when Magnus and his cohorts all glared at her. “Where did you find her?” she asked.

 

“She was wondering the mortal realm, having lost her family,” Magnus said through gritted teeth, matching Camille’s “smile” with one of his own before he took a deep swig of his wine, almost finishing the goblet in one swallow.

 

“What is your obsession with the mortal realm, Magnus? There’s nothing special about that place,” Camille asked with a roll of her eyes. “The realm is boring, a place for punishment, not enjoyment.”

 

“It is peaceful there. The realm isn’t full of unwanted guests that overstay their welcome,” Magnus muttered around the rim of his goblet, gaining a laugh from his friends and a growl from his father in the process. He rolled his eyes when Camille brushed it off instead of taking the hint. 

 

“Mortals are weak, they can’t even stomach bearing demons,” Camille said, a slow smile creeping over her face when Magnus’ face paled slightly. “Some of them would rather kill themselves than face their own children, too scared of what they will see lurking behind glowing eyes. You’re much better off sticking with your own kind, with people that will actually love you.”

 

Magnus’ gaze dropped to the glass in his hand as Camille’s voice lingered. He had worked so hard to put her behind him, to bury her hateful, manipulative words. But they always came back. “ _ Mortals are weak and so are their offspring.”  _

 

_ Don’t let her drag you back down. You have worked too hard to let her words mess with your head again.  _ Magnus repeated it over and over again in his head, trying to drown out her past words.  _ “Weak. Monster. Unloveable. Unworthy. But  _ I  _ love you.  _ I  _ will always be there for you. You can always depend on  _ me  _ when nobody else cares about you _ .”

 

“What happened to her family?” Camille asked, smirking when Magnus looked away, barely glancing up when a plate was settled in front of her. She tried again when Magnus merely shrugged her question off. “Surely her demon parent must be looking for her? Do you know who they might be?”

 

“I wouldn’t know and I don’t really care,” Magnus said as a plate was placed before him. He smiled his thanks at his father's servant before turning to his wine once more. He scowled at Clary when he saw her wave her hand under the table, from the corner of his eye, and his wine turned to water. It was probably a good idea but he would be lying if he said he didn’t need copious amounts of alcohol to deal with Camille. 

 

“Well, we must do everything we can to reunite the child with her parent, I’m sure they must be sick with worry,” Camille said sympathetically when she had schooled her features, before starting on her first course. Her eyes darted up from her salad when Magnus’ goblet hit the table, hard, the barest smile playing at the corner of her lips.

 

“They can’t be that concerned, she has been here for weeks and nobody has come looking,” Magnus said through gritted teeth, refusing to take his eyes off of Camille when he heard the sharp intake of breath coming from Clary and Simon’s directions. She could mess with him all she liked but when it came to Cat, there was no way he would put up with it.

 

“She will stay here if they do come looking, she is amusing to keep around,” Magnus said, refusing to let Camille see how attached he was to Cat. Whoever her parent was, they would have to pry Cat from his cold, dead hands if they wanted her.

 

Camille couldn’t help the grin that split her face.  _ Amusing, sure. He can pretend all he likes, he obviously cares about the girl, he wouldn’t be Magnus if he didn’t.  _ She stored that information away carefully before smothering the grin.

 

“I am merely concerned for the girl’s wellbeing. Come on Magnus, what could you offer the child? It’s not like you have any experience of having that motherly figure who stays for their child. Surely she deserves to have a loving parent who can actually take care of her?” Camille asked.

 

“I’m sure she does. However, she is stuck with me,” Magnus said, barely able to keep the contempt from his voice, hating that it wavered. _Maybe I don’t know what it’s like to have a parent that loves me but I’m doing what is best for Cat, right?_ _What if I’m not though? What if I’m being selfish?_ _Would she be better off with someone who knows what they are doing?_

 

Magnus waved his hand as self-doubt flared up, it was always the same when he spent any amount of time with Camille. He filled his empty goblet with more wine, glaring at Clary when he saw her arm move.

 

“How are things in Eidol?” Clary asked, changing the subject and leaving Magnus to his wine. She had no doubt that Camille simply didn’t like the idea of being stuck raising someone else's child, rather than having any genuine concern for Cat. That or Camille wanted Magnus’ undivided attention.  _ She never was good at sharing, unless you count sharing her body with anyone that will have it. _

 

“Excellent, my subjects are loyal, they actually know how to behave around people that are above their station,” Camille said, her eyes flicking to Simon who was taking the opportunity to elbow her every time he took a bite of his food.

 

“I’m sure you can’t wait to get back to them then,” Clary said, smiling sweetly at Camille, hoping she would take the hint that she wasn’t welcome. Her eyes flicked in Asmodeus’ direction when a growl rumbled through him.

 

“Camille is welcome to stay as long as she likes. I can’t say the same for everyone at this table,” Asmodeus said, staring at his son.  _ He invites them to my table and doesn’t even try to control them. _

 

Magnus stared right back, wondering if his father would kick the three of them out if they were rude enough to Camille. He had no intention of trying to reign Clary or Simon in, too grateful at their antics to tell them to stop. He just wanted the wretched dinner to be over.

 

“Aren’t you hungry Magnus? You’ve barely touched your food,” Camille asked when everyone pushed their plates away, Magnus’ plate still full. She pushed it back in his direction when he refilled his wine goblet.

 

“Not particularly. For some reason that I can’t fathom, my appetite seems to have deserted me,” Magnus replied, pushing his plate away once more.  _ She is starting already! _

 

“Nonsense, you must be starving, you wouldn’t want to  _ weaken  _ yourself,” Camille said, pushing Magnus’ plate back at him, wishing he would just do as he was told for once. She was merely looking out for him.

 

“I am just fine with my wine, thank you,” Magnus said, sending his plate away with a wave of his hand.  _ Why does she feel the need to control every damn thing?  _ He wondered furiously.

 

“What are your plans while you are in Edom?” Simon changed the subject as the plates from the first course were taken away and replaced with a main of roasted venison. He caught Clary’s eye across the table, matching her eye roll with one of his own at Camille’s controlling impulses.

 

“We will be giving her a tour of Edom tomorrow, showing her the sights,” Asmodeus said diplomatically. He couldn’t help but glare around the table, deliberating whether to dismiss Clary and Simon before they could sabotage all of his plans.

 

“We?” Magnus asked, raising his eyebrow as his eyes flicked to his father. He had no intention of spending any more time with Camille than was absolutely necessary.

 

“Yes, we. You and I. I’m sure you wouldn’t miss the opportunity to be a gracious host, dear. We will be showing Camille around tomorrow,” Asmodeus said, daring his son to disagree with a glare.

 

“She already knows what the realm looks like,” Magnus said, refilling his goblet once more. He wasn’t sure if it was his fifth or sixth and didn’t really care. “Do you mean you’re showing her what would be at her disposal if she were to agree to whatever plan you have cooked up?” he asked.

 

Clary’s eyes widened at Magnus’ words, and the way he was starting to slur them. They were barely through the second course. She flicked her fingers in the direction of his goblet, turning his eighth drink into water.

 

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Asmodeus gritted out, glaring at Magnus. Couldn’t they even make it through the first night without hostilities been hurled at each other?

 

“Sure you do, let me make one thing clear, just in case there are any misunderstandings. I will not be mating anyone,” Magnus said, staring into Camille’s eyes and managing to hold her gaze. The thought of  _ his Alpha  _ kept his eyes up. He drew courage just from the image of Alec’s face in his head.

 

“Who said anything about mating?” Camille asked sweetly, her gracious smile belying the anger that was pulsing through her at Magnus’ defiant glare.

 

“Isn’t that why you are here?” Magnus asked, ignoring the rumbles and snarls coming from his father’s direction.

 

“I am simply taking a tour of the realm, my love,” Camille said. She filled her own goblet up and sat back in her chair, folding her arms over her chest to observe Magnus, pretty sure an epic meltdown was on its way. 

 

“Of course you are. Why don’t you start with an exit portal?” Magnus asked, throwing his napkin down on his full plate and waving his hand over his goblet before knocking the contents back. If Clary had thought she had been subtle she was wrong. He fully intended to get spectacularly drunk. 

 

“That is enough! You will not speak to my guest like that in my house. Apologise, Magnus,” Asmodeus snarled, losing the little hold he had left on his patience.

 

“You’re right, it is enough,” Magnus growled at his father, his own patience obliterated at the charade his father and Camille were trying to pull off. “Tell me,  _ father _ , how much am I worth to you? What is my dowry? What did you promise this harpy in return for mating me?” he asked. 

 

“Get out! And take your friends with you,” Asmodeus snapped, slamming his fists down on the table with a shower of sparks.

 

“Don’t worry, we were just leaving,” Magnus said, glaring at Camille as she tried and failed to hide the giggle behind her hand.  _ She is never happier than when she is shit stirring. _

 

Clary or Simon didn’t need telling twice. Clary stood quickly, taking Magnus’ arm and pushing him ahead of her, steering him from the dining room.

 

“Do you think that was wise?” Clary asked when they reached Magnus’ quarters, taking the goblet of wine Magnus produced and slinging it back as she started pacing, needing the alcohol herself.

 

“What was he supposed to do, just sit there and take it?” Simon asked, knocking his own drink back. “They could at least have the decency to call it what it is instead of this putting this shit show on,” he muttered.

 

“Of course not, that’s not what I meant. He is pitting himself against the rulers of two realms. Neither Asmodeus nor Camille forgives or forgets easily,” Clary said with an eye roll.

 

“So what, he’s just supposed to go along with their plans for him? Mate the bitch to keep them happy?” Simon asked, staring at Clary.

 

“That’s not what I’m saying. I just meant that he could have been a little more diplomatic about it is all, not let them get under his skin,” Clary retorted, pacing even harder.

 

“Can you really blame him? I would have done the same if they had been acting like that while planning to mate me off, against my will. And so would you!” Simon said angrily.

 

“Yes, well he doesn’t need to make enemies out of them both,” Clary said, her own voice rising.

 

“Stop it, both of you. Look, she’s been here one night and she is already driving a wedge between us,” Magnus said tiredly, sinking down onto the low couch and dropping his head into his hands.  _ She is already getting under our skin and worming her way into our heads. I came so far this time and she just kicked down the walls like they were nothing. _

 

“I shouldn’t have let her get to me. She just pisses me off with her superior, entitled, “I’m the ruler of the world and you are my peasant's” act,” Magnus said, scrubbing his hand over his face.

 

“Sorry,” Simon muttered, realising that he and Clary had indeed been arguing. And that they had been talking about Magnus like he wasn’t there. 

 

“Me too. We need to put up a united front while she is here,” Clary said, sliding her hand into Simon’s grip and squeezing with a tight smile. “She managed to put us all on edge with one dinner. And your father is just as bad.”

 

“We should get some sleep then, we will need to be sharp for tomorrow. Can’t let her catch us off guard again,” Simon said, already turning for the spare bedroom, letting Clary have Cat’s room.

 

“I’m not sleeping here. I want to go home,” Magnus said, rising from the couch. He wasn’t sure if he could deal with being under the same roof as Camille just now.

 

“To the cabin?” Clary asked, wondering if Magnus realised he had referred to the cabin as his home instead of Edom.

 

“Yes. I want to stay at the cabin,” Magnus corrected himself absentmindedly. He waved them off when his friends offered to go with him. “I just want to be alone tonight. But thank you, I appreciate the offer,” she said, smiling for his friends.

 

“We will leave you to it then. Goodnight, Magnus,” Simon said, pulling at Clary’s arm when it looked like she was about to protest. He hugged Magnus and let Clary take her turn before pulling her from the room.

 

Magnus took a moment to just breathe, wishing for nothing more than to be wrapped up in Alec’s arms and not to have to think about Camille ever again. He changed out of his clothes and into a fresh set of leathers before leaving his quarters and heading for the front doors.

 

Magnus stopped in his tracks when he made it to the end of the first corridor and walked right into Camille.

 

“What are you doing here? Go to your own room. Or better yet, go back to your own realm. You aren’t welcome here, Camille,” Magnus said firmly, taking a step back to glare at her.  _ She actually has the audacity to try and come to my rooms! _

 

“I am going to my own room, your father assigned me the guest suite,” Camille said sweetly, reaching out to rest her hand on Magnus’ arm. Her eyes narrowed when he jerked back from her touch.

 

“The guest suite in the east wing?” Magnus asked, a growl building in his chest.  _ Is there no end to my father’s meddling? Putting her in the suite next to my quarters!  _ He pushed past Camille when she nodded with another of her sweet smiles, it looked more like a smirk.

 

“You might as well stop fighting it, Magnus. We both know we belong together. You know that nobody else would put up with you, would ever come close to being what I could be for you. I mean seriously, who else would consider mating you? Only I would tie myself to you for an eternity. You will always love me, Magnus and I am the only one who could ever love you. You are mine,” Camille said to Magnus’ retreating back, smirking when he spun on the spot.

 

“How romantic, I belong to you?” Magnus snarled, trying his best not to think of all the times she had said such things to him, every time she had told him he could only depend on her to care for him when his own parents didn’t. “I belong to no one, Camille. You should keep that in mind,” he said before turning his back on her.

 

“Go home, Camille. Whatever it is you want, you won’t find it here,” Magnus called over his shoulder before turning the corner and leaving her, and her words, behind. 

 

Magnus stormed through the palace, pushing out into the night air. He unfurled his wings the second the door closed behind him, fighting the sting of angry tears as he took off and flew fast to his portal sight, barely stopping to create a portal to the mortal realm before flying through it.

 

Magnus lost himself in thought, speeding up when he cleared the portal to the mortal realm, trying not to dwell on everything that had been said or what plans his father and Camille had cooked up between themselves while they had been in Eidol... or how those plans would affect him.

 

He calmed slightly when he landed in front of his cabin and pushed through the door, his Alpha’s scent engulfing him as he stepped inside and headed for bed. He let the scent work through him, calming his thoughts and fears as he stripped down and fell into bed, feeling the effects of the alcohol he had consumed and the tiredness that always came with his impending heats.

 

He buried his face in Alec’s pillow, inhaling deeply to take as much of Alec’s scent in as possible. One thought floated through his mind in a moment of weakness before sleep claimed him. Maybe he and Alec would be better off taking their chances with the fall?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simon is such a shady bitch, lol. I love him!
> 
> I want to kick Camille in the vagina so hard that she can taste the bottom of my shoe!!!!!


	19. You Are Worthy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, a new chapter! I really struggled with this one, it's so emotional. It took me five days to write this one but I finally completed it. A special thank you goes to Imandra and Banepotter, I couldn't have gotten through it without their help and encouragement. I had a bit of a "Thank you for loving my boy," moment halfway through it, this one hit a little too close to home for me, but I got there in the end. Hopefully, it won't be too painful.
> 
> I'm going to put a trigger warning in here. This chapter talks about the effects of emotional abuse and manipulative behaviour. Please be careful if this is something that you might find hard to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about the last chapter. I think I caused a bit of confusion with the way I wrote the scene where Magnus encountered Camille again for the first time. The way Magnus described Camille, with her scent and the way she made him feel, it wasn't anything to do with physical attraction, it was more to do with Magnus' mental state and the hold that Camille has always had over him. Hopefully, this chapter will clear up why he felt and reacted the way he did.

After a long afternoon and evening of patrolling the first heavenly realm, with Raziel no less, Alec landed at the foot of the steps to his and Magnus’ cabin in the early hours of the morning. He had returned to his house, in his own realm but had left immediately after walking into the empty house that just felt cold and lonely. 

 

Deciding that he would rather be at the cabin, he had quickly washed and exchanged his gear for a fresh set of leathers before taking off, dropping from the heavens while he still had the energy. He was emotionally drained more than physically, having spent hours fielding questions about his recent performance in his duties. His commander had noticed how distracted he had been lately and had been probing him about it.

 

Alec climbed the steps to the porch and let himself into his home. The first thing he noticed was the strong scent of Magnus with a hint of something unfamiliar. It had his eyes widening, surprised that his Omega was there. He walked through the empty living room to Cat’s bedroom, frowning when he found it empty before he found Magnus asleep in their bed.

 

He softened his footsteps as he approached the bed, silently kicking his shoes off and sliding into it, next to his mate. A growl started to build in his chest when he saw dark, makeup stained, tear tracks on Magnus’ cheeks and his pillow, not even sure what had happened to cause his mate to cry, just knowing that he didn’t like it.

 

Alec reached out, brushing Magnus’ hair back from his face, frowning when Magnus became restless. His hand swept down Magnus’ face when Magnus started breathing faster, his mate’s eyes moving erratically beneath their lids. He moved closer and pulled Magnus to him.

 

“Magnus? Wake up, I think you’re having a…” Alec cut off when Magnus woke with a snarl and started fighting him. He let go at the first words out of Magnus’ mouth.

 

“Get your fucking hands off me,” Magnus snarled, fighting the arms wrapped around him through his sleep-fogged brain. He fought for a moment before realising that the arms had released him. 

 

Magnus blinked at the face before him, the snarl dying in his throat when he saw that the person who had been holding him had been Alec, at the same time as his scent registered.

 

“Alexander, what are you doing here…? I’m so sorry… I wasn’t… I didn’t mean you,” Magnus said, reaching out to Alec. His stomach was somewhere on the floor from the look of hurt on Alec’s face. “I was having a nightmare, I’m so sorry, I would never talk to you like that,” he said.

 

“What happened?” Alec asked, pulling Magnus back to him when he saw the gamut of emotions that ran across Magnus’ face. Anger, hurt, betrayal, fear. Every one of them like a blade to the gut, pushing his own hurt aside. 

 

“Camille. She and my father were waiting when we returned to Edom,” Magnus muttered into Alec’s neck, pressing himself closer to his Alpha to try and eradicate even the memory of the dream he had been having when Alec had woken him.  _ Nightmare, not a dream.  _ Alec's was the only touch he wanted, the touch he needed. 

 

“She is in Edom already?” Alec asked, pulling back to look Magnus in the eye. He tried to steady the thudding of his heart and the twisting of his stomach when Magnus nodded. “I thought she wasn’t due for a few more days?” he asked.

 

“So did we. I was forced to endure an abysmal dinner with them, along with Clary and Simon. It must have been part of my father's plan,” Magnus said, pressing his entire body to Alec’s when his Alpha’s arms tightened around him.

 

“Where is Cat?” Alec asked, holding Magnus closer to him as he fought a growl. He didn’t like the thought of Cat being there, knowing how much she disliked Asmodeus, any more than he liked the idea of Camille being near Magnus. 

 

“I sent her to Elaine’s, I didn’t want her around Camille or my father, not when they’ve been hatching some sort of plan,” Magnus said into the skin of Alec’s neck, inhaling his Alpha’s scent with every breath. “I don’t think they have reached an agreement but something Camille said makes me think she’s already made her decision,” he said.

 

“What did she say? And what is her decision?” Alec asked, unable to help the bright golden glow of his runes.

 

“She seems to think I belong to her,” Magnus said with a sigh as waves of disgust and hatred radiated through him in equal measures, and not just for Camille. “She’s holding out for something though. She could have easily agreed to whatever my father offered her but she will always hold out for something better, for an opportunity to gain more than what was offered.”

 

“What do you think she wants?” Alec asked, not really caring what Camille wanted. Whatever it was, she wasn’t getting it.

 

“Honestly? I have no idea. Maybe she wants a share of Edom or maybe she’s just biding her time, playing some power game with my father to keep him on his toes. All I know is that she’s sneaky. She likes to know where all of the pieces are on the board before she makes her next move,” Magnus said.

 

“You make it sound like it’s all a big game to her,” Alec growled as he combed his fingers through Magnus’ hair.  _ It’s not a fucking game, it’s our life!  _ The thought had him scowling.

 

“It is. And she will do anything to win. She’s ruthless. I can’t believe it took me so long to see her true colours,” Magnus said as shame welled up inside him. He tried to push it down, but it was always the same whenever she flounced back into his life, whirling in and making him feel like a ridiculous, desperate fool.

 

“I wanted her to love me so badly that I turned a blind eye to her machinations. The only person who had ever loved me was my mother... until she saw what I was. I spent so long believing that I was unlovable after she killed herself and then Camille came along,” Magnus looked up into Alec’s eyes as tears welled up once more. 

 

“I had thought I had finally found someone who accepted me, who believed I wasn’t a monster,” Magnus said, his gaze dropping from Alec's. “She was good at that, at fooling me into thinking that she loved me. And I was so desperate for it. My father never loved me, never once told me that I was worthy of unconditional love so I believed that it was what I deserved and she played on that… and my mother’s suicide, for so long…”

 

Magnus knew it, knew that every criticism Camille had given him, over the last four centuries or so, quickly followed by sweet assurances, was Camille’s way of manipulating him. He had finally worked it out, the last time he had sent her away, that she only wanted control. Maybe he had always known it deep down. But it had always been the same, every time she came back, a never-ending loop of allowing her back in and believing her words.

 

“Can I ask you a question, about your mother?” Alec asked, brushing the tears away from Magnus’ face when he nodded. “Did she know what Asmodeus was? Before you were conceived, I mean?” he asked.

 

“I… I don’t know. I’ve never spoken to my father about it,” Magnus said, confusion about where Alec was going with his question pushing his thoughts aside for a moment. 

 

“I don’t think she did. I think she probably thought he was a mortal,” Alec said gently, hoping Magnus didn’t get the wrong impression. “Maybe the fact that she had been with a demon, not knowing what he was, was the reason she took her own life. Mortals aren’t like us, they think in mortal terms. Maybe being intimate with a demon was too much for her mortal mind to accept. Have you ever thought about it like that?” he asked.

 

“No… I never did,” Magnus said, staring at his mate as faded memories of soft arms and lullabies filled his head.  _ Hadn’t my mother loved me, right up until she had seen my eyes for the first time? Could it be possible that she hadn’t taken her life because of me? That she hadn’t thought of me as a monster?  _

 

“What your mother did, it wasn’t your fault, Magnus,” Alec said, tilting Magnus’ head up by his chin when Magnus dropped his gaze once more. “It wasn’t your fault, you were a child. She had her own demons to fight and she lost that fight. I didn’t know her or what she was going through but if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that she must have loved you. How could she not? She was just scared, fear will drive people to desperate acts.

 

“You deserve to happy, my love. Never, ever forget that” Alec whispered, crushing Magnus to him and pressing his lips to Magnus’ forehead. “You are perfect, just the way you are. You deserve to be loved, to be cherished. Camille… your father, they should have made you feel loved, should have told you every day how precious you are. I’m so sorry that they never did. I don’t even have the words to tell you how much I love you. You’re everything to me.”

 

Magnus didn’t know what to say as he stared into Alec’s eyes, seeing the complete and honest truth there. They were the kind of words he had waited so long to hear, fearing that nobody would ever say them to him, or mean them. But he could see Alec did mean them, his voice had held a sincerity to it that Camille’s never had. 

 

Camille’s voice would hiss through his mind like smoke, her words intangible but ever-present, every time he saw her again.  _ “Nobody could ever love you like me. I am the only one you can ever depend on. Others may see a monster who killed his own mother but I don’t. Who could tolerate a murderer, other than me? You will always have me when the rest of the world turns you away.” _

 

“You’re brave and strong, you’re beautiful and kind. You’re selfless, you’re all that a man could ask for in a mate, more than that even. You’re everything I ever needed, Magnus, everything I never thought to ask for,” Alec whispered, stroking his fingers through Magnus’ hair when his mate shook his head. The look in Magnus’ eyes broke his heart. He hated the self-deprecating look of disbelief.

 

“Strong?” Magnus murmured, almost laughing the word. “I’m not strong, Alexander. I’m the man they made me, all three of them. Nobody has ever needed me. I’m… broken…” 

 

Magnus had to look away, biting into his lip at the words. He was right back there, the place Camille managed to take him every time he saw her, her voice in his ear trying to drown Alec’s out. He would always pick himself up, bury it all in the past and try not to think of it each time she left for a decade or a century, managing to gain ground again before she would return. 

 

Just seeing her again, hearing her speak, putting up with the whispers and the sniping and the controlling behaviour, it would all come back. That he wasn’t good enough, that he was a monster, unloveable, someone unworthy of sticking around for.

 

That he was weak. 

 

That was the worst one. Camille had always managed to make him feel weak. He hated that she had always made him feel like he would be nothing without her, as though she was more than he could dare to hope for, that he couldn’t make it without her, because she was the only one that could ever love him. And he had been so desperate for that love that he had gone back to it, because wasn’t it better to have someone that was as flawed as her, than nobody?

 

“You don’t have to be what she tried to make you,” Alec said, once again tucking his finger under Magnus’ chin, tilting Magnus’ head up to look him in the eye. He slid his hand up his mate’s face to keep eye contact with him when Magnus tried to look away again. He could see the shame, clear as day on Magnus’ face

 

“You’re more than that, I promise you,” Alec said against Magnus’ lips, wanting to shout the words so that Magnus would listen to them, even if all he could manage through the lump in his throat was a whisper. “You don’t have to let her control you, not any more. You’re strong, look how long you have survived her.”

 

Magnus let his eyes fall closed, repeating Alec’s words in his head as he pressed their foreheads together. A ragged, shaky breath escaped him when Alec’s thumb traced the edge of his lips.

 

“You can be strong without her. You don’t have to do it alone, I’m here for you and I am not going anywhere. But I know, even if you didn’t have me, you could stand against her. You’ve survived her for too many centuries not to,” Alec said.

 

“How do you do that?” Magnus asked, taking deep lungfuls of Alec’s scent in to ground his emotions and drown out every other voice that wasn’t Alec’s. “How do you see my deepest fears and just push them aside? Make me feel so… so… safe, so worthy?” he asked, his eyes opening to search Alec’s. 

 

“You are worthy! You’re worth so much more than the things your father and Camille made you feel. You aren’t the monster you think you are. I just wish that we had met earlier so that I could have shown you that sooner, so I could have shown you just how much I love you,” Alec whispered.

 

Magnus’ eyes slammed closed again as his breathing turned shallower. He  _ knew  _ that Alec loved him. He knew it. Alec had never once made him feel stupid or worthless, like a desperate fool that would cling onto something toxic for fear of being alone again, out of fear that he was unloveable. Alec had only ever treated him with respect, cared for him, shown him unconditional love, as an equal. Hell, Alec had never even treated him like a demon. He was just Magnus to Alec.

 

“Kiss me, Alexander,” Magnus murmured, desperately needing to lose himself in his mate who accepted him, flaws and all. His Alpha who cherished their time together, rather than seeing him as someone to tolerate. The man who offered all of his love and belief without asking for anything in return, other than the same love back. The angel that offered him respect and valued his opinions when others wanted nothing more than to diminish his self-worth.

 

Pouting his lips out, Alec pressed the softest kiss to Magnus’ lips, trying to brush away the thoughts he could see warring for ground in Magnus’ head. If he could have a wish at that moment, it would be for Magnus to see how strong he was, for Magnus to be able to claw back just a fraction of the control Camille was trying to take from him.

 

It had Alec’s arms tightening, his hands bunching at the small of Magnus’ back as he held his omega to him, his fingertips brushing over the bare skin of Magnus’ spine. He pressed his lips to Magnus’ harder, wishing he could convey how much Magnus meant to him, how much he wished he could wipe every bad memory of Magnus’ past from his head.

 

Magnus brushed his hands down Alec’s chest, his fingers brushed over the leather and the small brass studs that adorned it, warmed by their combined body heat where he lay flush to Alec. Short, shallow breaths burst from him as Alec deepened the kiss.

 

The lips, pressed against his own were safety to Magnus, a place where he felt strong, like he didn’t have to be ashamed. A place where he wasn’t weak or stupid. They were a promise of respect and love, something he had craved and sought for centuries. They were freedom from the feeling of worthlessness that had been instilled in him, time and time again, by the people that were supposed to love him the most.

 

_ How did I find in him, in a few short weeks, what I spent centuries searching for in others?  _ Magnus wondered. He pushed his hands under Alec’s tunic when he found the hem of it, his fingers playing over the firm, warm, hair peppered skin of Alec’s abdomen to brush over Alec’s hip.

 

Alec rolled them over when Magnus’ grip on his hip tightened, deepening the kiss even further when he licked at Magnus’ bottom lip, seeking entrance. He lay Magnus on his back, hitching a leg over Magnus’ hips and happily going when Magnus tugged at him, straddling his mate’s hips.

 

Alec broke the kiss, sitting up and guiding Magnus’ hand to the hem of his tunic, nodding when Magnus looked into his eyes. He raised his arms when Magnus sat up and tugged at the material of his tunic and slid it up, pulling it over his head. His eyelids drooped when Magnus’ fingers played over his skin, followed by his lips.

 

Magnus tossed Alec’s tunic away as he pressed sucking, open-mouthed kisses against Alec’s chest. The hairs didn’t bother him he just wanted to be as close to Alec as possible. His hands slid around Alec’s waist, his fingers brushing up Alec’s back and over his shoulder blades and shoulders to anchor Alec to him as his lips found Alec’s collarbone.

 

Alec’s breath came in short bursts when Magnus’ fingers played over his wing scars, his eyes rolling under his lids from the insistent gesture on the sensitive skin. The pressure of Magnus’ fingers and the tongue on his collarbone and neck had his hips rocking in Magnus’ lap, his dick twitching uncontrollably. He could feel Magnus’ dick hardening under his ass.

 

Magnus’ hands brushed down Alec’s sides to grip his hips, his own hips jumping up to meet Alec’s grinding ass of their own volition. He pulled Alec down further, a small moan escaping him when Alec moved with him as sucked at Alec’s neck, right over his scent glands.

 

Alec wrapped his arms around Magnus’ neck, his own moan bursting free when the pressure on his neck turned more insistent. He continued to grind on Magnus’ dick when small shudders travelled up and down his spine from Magnus’ touch.

 

“Make love to me, Magnus,” Alec murmured as Magnus’ fingers traced the curve of his spine. “I  _ need  _ you, more than I’ve never needed another person in my life. I need all of you,” he said when he saw the confusion on Magnus’ face as his mate pulled back.

 

Magnus stared at his mate. Nobody had ever said that to him before, that they needed him. Nobody had ever spoken to him with such raw honesty. Alec needed  _ him.  _ Not his services, not what he could do for Alec. His mate needed  _ him. _ Alec’s words may have come out breathlessly but they were firm, infused with truth and unwavering love. 

 

Magnus lost himself in the green and brown, the tiny golden flecks of Alec’s eyes, seeing the love and trust there. And the need. It matched his own need. The need for his mate, the need to lose himself, to bury himself in his Alpha and take control. 

 

Magnus claimed Alec’s lips, his left arm tightening around Alec’s back as his right hand found Alec’s jaw, holding his Alpha’s face like it was the most precious object in all of the realms. He pushed into Alec’s mouth, breathing his mates air when his own became scarce.

 

Alec’s hips started moving again, his nostrils flaring as he fought for breath and as the scent of Magnus’ slick permeated the air, stronger than usual, probably due to his impending heat. It wrapped around him and sank into the marrow of his bones, shutting his brain down.

 

Half of Alec, the Alpha half, wanted to push Magnus down and claim him, to have the pheromones in Magnus’ scent jolt his own hormones into producing a knot, to fill Magnus up and impregnate him. The other half, the half that was attuned to Magnus’ needs and the effect Magnus was having on him, wanted to be owned by his mate, for Magnus to push  _ him  _ down and fill him up.

 

It seemed Alec would get his wish when Magnus leaned into him, pushing him backwards. He held onto Magnus’ neck as his Omega lay him down, staring up into Magnus’ eyes when Magnus broke the kiss, both of them breathing heavily.

 

His Alpha, looking up at him through his lashes had Magnus losing his mind, his stuttering brain thinking it was decidedly unfair for someone to be so beautiful and wondering how he could be so lucky to be the person that got to see that beauty every day. He leaned down, pressing his chest to Alec’s when he could hold back no longer, bunching his fist in the blankets next no Alec’s head to claim his lips once more.

 

Magnus’ free hand slid under Alec’s ass when Alec’s hips raised to meet his. He pressed closer, between Alec’s thighs to seek friction against his own dick, knowing that that was what Alec was doing with the sure movement of his hips.

 

Alec reached under himself and pushed Magnus’ hand into the waistband of his pants, moaning into Magnus’ mouth when Magnus took the hint, gripping his ass to pull him closer. The friction on his dick as Magnus started grinding into him felt good but it wasn’t enough, he wanted to be closer to his Omega, skin to skin.

 

Magnus stopped kneading Alec’s ass when Alec let go of his hand and started to pull at the waistband of his leather pants. He pulled his hand out and sat up, taking the waistband in his own hands and tugging until Alec was as naked as he was.

 

Throwing the pants aside, Magnus pressed himself forward into Alec’s chest once more, revelling in the hairs that tickled his own chest. He looked into Alec’s eyes, claiming his lips when he saw that Alec still wanted it from the frantic nod of his Alpha’s head. He rolled his hips, the sound of his own stuttering breaths mingling with Alec’s when his own hard cock started grinding into Alec’s with nothing between them.

 

Wrapping one leg around the back of Magnus’ thighs and the other around his back, Alec moved in sync with his Omega, his mind slipping inch by inch as Magnus’ scent became stronger, sweeter, with their movements, losing himself in Magnus as much as Magnus was getting lost in him.

 

When it wasn’t enough, Alec let his legs fall open and brushed his hand down over Magnus’ ass, coating his fingers in the steady, copious flow of slick and used it to lube Magnus’ dick up with long, hurried strokes, his stomach fluttering from the look of pure, unadulterated pleasure on Magnus’ face.

 

Magnus released Alec’s mouth when his mate reached between them, dropping his head into Alec’s neck when Alec started tugging at his dick. He rutted into Alec’s hand, breathing heavily from the pleasure that radiated through him.

 

“Alexander, you have no idea…” Magnus muttered breathlessly, barely able to form a coherent thought as his hips bucked forward, Alec’s grip destroying his self-control. He almost whined when Alec released his dick until Alec took hold of his wrist and guided it to his slick soaked asshole. 

 

Magnus ran his fingers through the slick that their movements had produced, his eyelids momentarily fluttering from the spike of pleasure it brought before he used the slick he gathered to lube Alec up, sliding his slippery fingers over Alec’s hole.

 

“Fuck!” Alec muttered, unable to come up with anything else when Magnus’ tentative fingers brushed over his hole, gentle, but insistent enough to have him wriggling, trying to chase them. His legs fell open wider as he tilted his hips, pleasure from the teasing movements of Magnus’ fingers rolling over his skin in small shivers. 

 

Magnus massaged a little more slick into the skin around Alec’s hole, only stopping his teasing when he judged Alec was sufficiently slick enough. He looked into Alec’s eyes once more before taking his dick in hand and guiding it to Alec’s entrance when he saw the frantic nod of his Alpha’s head, pushing in slowly, gently teasing Alec open with his dick.

 

The squeeze was breathtaking and maddening, all in the same breath, it was perfect. Magnus just about had enough presence of mind not to go too fast, watching the way Alec’s eyes squeezed shut now and then and the way Alec’s chest rose and fell faster. He dipped his head, kissing the lines around Alec’s eyes when he sank all the way in.

 

Alec tightened his grip on Magnus when their hips met, wrapping his arms around Magnus’ back and brushing his fingers up and down Magnus’ spine as he adjusted. It was a tight fit, his mate wasn’t a small man but it was phenomenal too, the closeness he felt with Magnus.

 

“Are you okay? Am I hurting you?” Magnus asked, staring into Alec’s eyes when they opened. His stomach clenched when he saw the look in Alec’s eyes, a look of pure, unfiltered love and trust. He brushed the back of his knuckles up Alec’s cheekbone when Alec smiled, those beautiful, plump lips parting slightly.

 

“I’m fine, it’s tight but not painful,” Alec said, leaning into Magnus’ touch. He could see the worry there, the tight strain in Magnus’ neck, whether from the self-control he was exerting over himself or something else, he didn’t know. “It feels good, I need this, Magnus,” he said, turning to press a kiss into Magnus’ palm.

 

Magnus brushed his thumb over Alec’s bottom lip, tugging it down as Alec’s reassurances soothed him, calmed him in the way only Alec could. He caught Alec’s lips when he released it, brushing his own across them as he drew his hips back.

 

Alec moaned into Magnus’ mouth when his mate pushed back into him, slowly. His tongue flicked out, dipping into Magnus’ mouth as both of their breathing turned shallower with the movement. He wasn’t lying, it did feel good, especially because it was his mate, his Omega thrusting into him.

 

“Do it again,” Alec whispered when Magnus’ movement’s stopped as he bottomed out again, a hoarse groan escaping as Magnus withdrew and thrust back into him, a little deeper. He clutched Magnus’ head, his fingers brushing through Magnus’ hair to hold his mate to him.

 

“I love you,” Magnus murmured against Alec’s lips as he thrust into Alec, again and again, withdrawing a little further and pushing in a little deeper each time, pleasure from the tight squeeze and Alec’s fingernails scraping his scalp pulsing through him. He rested on his elbows, wanting to be as close to Alec as possible, chest to chest as Alec took him in.

 

“I love you too, more than words can say,” Alec said. He released one of his hands from Magnus’ hair, his hand sliding down Magnus’ back to grip his ass, pulling Magnus further into him. He threw his head back when Magnus sped up a little, his mate angling his hips. The scrape on his prostate was phenomenal.

 

Magnus pushed into Alec’s body harder, speeding up when Alec’s legs tightened around him, Alec’s hand, digging into his ass, pushing him to thrust deeper. He dipped his head, pressing his lips to Alec’s exposed throat and sucked at the brightly glowing rune there. He sucked harder when the hand that still rested in his hair tightened, a breathless groan escaping him from the slight tugging as Alec pulled.

 

Alec pulled his legs further into his chest as he pushed his hips up to meet Magnus’ thrusts, deep, low whimpers bursting from him everytime Magnus’ dick brushed his prostate. He let his legs flop over Magnus’ arms when his Omega gripped his hips and tilted them further.

 

“Fuck… Magnus! Right there,” Alec moaned as Magnus’ thrusts turned more insistent, slightly sloppy as they both got closer to the edge. He could barely breathe from the way he was lying, hunched as he held Magnus to him but he didn’t care. The pleasure was stealing his breath anyway.

 

Magnus dropped his head into the junction of Alec’s’ neck, breathing deeply, uncaring of the sheen of sweat that had sprung up on their bodies, of the desperate sounds of his moans every time Alec clenched around his dick. He was too lost, in the pleasure of being inside his Alpha, too lost in Alec, the man who managed to make him forget his own name.

 

Alec could feel his balls start to draw up when Magnus’ teeth grazed his shoulder. The sound of laboured breathing and skin meeting skin, the sound of his own erratic pulse in his head and the small, pleasure-filled moans that broke the silence were too much, as was the constant pressure on his prostate.

 

Alec came with Magnus’ name on his lips, calling it out when his cock exploded all over their stomachs. He wrapped his arms and legs tighter around Magnus, holding onto him like a plank of driftwood as he rode it out, his eyes screwed shut and his breathing almost nonexistent. He didn’t care that he could barely breathe from it, it would be the sweetest death a man could ask for.

 

The sound of Alec’s orgasm had Magnus pushing deeper into Alec, chasing his own. He had long since given up control of his body, too caught up in the way Alec was wrapped around every part of him. Knowing he had brought Alec to release, the sound of it in his ear and Alec’s short, sharp bursts of breath on his shoulder became too much.

 

Magnus orgasm reared up when Alec’s moans turned to mewling whimpers, Alec grinding up into him, pushing him over the edge. He muffled his own soft moan in Alec’s neck as he emptied into Alec with one last deep thrust, as though he couldn’t get close enough. It radiated through his body, pushing out from his balls and curling his toes.

 

Magnus collapsed on top of Alec, his arms turning to mush. He lay panting on Alec’s chest, rising slightly with each panting breath that Alec drew in, his brain fogging over slightly from the pleasure that still pulsed through him.

 

Alec held Magnus to him as he fought for breath, never wanting to let go of him. He combed his fingers through Magnus’ hair with his left hand, his right arm wrapped around Magnus’ shoulders.

 

“I love you,” Alec said, his voice low and husky, as he clamped his legs around Magnus’ sides just that little bit tighter.

 

“As I love you,” Magnus said, pressing his lips to Alec’s sternum. His eyes stayed closed as Alec’s soft movements and the slight scrape on his scalp lulled him. He hadn’t realised how much he had needed to lose himself in his mate but the peaceful, calm feeling radiating through him made him feel safe. He was exactly where he was meant to be.


	20. Heat

“Simon, please. I just need some fresh air, that’s all. Its been two days, please?” Magnus begged as he pressed his sweaty forehead into his bedroom door, where he was slumped against it. He wanted to rip his hair out when Simon’s muffled reply came through the door.

“I’m sorry Magnus. I can’t.”

“Just let me out, come on. I won’t go far… you can come with me, please?” Magnus begged. He curled in on himself as another cramp struck, screwing his eyes shut as he wrapped his arms around himself. “ _ Please,”  _ he asked, the word coming out as a sob.

“Take some more of your potion,” floated through the door, forcing a snarl from Magnus.

“I can’t, I’ve taken too much already,” Magnus tried, hearing the lie and knowing that Simon had heard it too.

He had tried everything he could think of. Begging, bribing, cajoling. He had tried to offer Simon anything he thought his friend would want. He had even threatened Simon with a curse that would remove every hair from his body for the rest of eternity. Even the threat of having to spend the rest of his life as bald as a wraith demon hadn’t shifted Simon.

Magnus crawled across the floor and dragged his shaking body up onto his bed, cursing Simon under his breath along the way. A low hiss escaped him when the cool cotton sheets scraped along his skin as he fell into the pile of blankets on his bed. 

“Motherfucker! Are these sheets made of blades?” He bellowed as he curled into a ball, every muscle and joint he possessed aching.

He had given up on trying to wear clothes about twenty minutes after his heat had started, waking up from a fitful doze on the couch in his living room, to find his ass leaking and sweat pouring from his body.

The spells had been finalized and his quarters sealed when Simon had crashed into his living room, following the scent. Simon had taken one look at him and dashed back out of the room. When he had followed, he had found Simon locking all of the spells into place before his best friend at dragged him into his bedroom and sealed the door up.

A growl of frustration erupted from Magnus as waves of desire and need crashed through him again, along with a burst of magic. He slumped in on himself when a wave of tired dizzyness crashed through him.

_ Ha, you thought you were so clever with that one, didn’t you?  _ Magnus mocked himself as the magic in the room drained his energy, leaving him woozy and tired. He had congratulated himself so hard when he had invented the spell, a couple of centuries earlier after a particularly nasty heat when he had almost escaped. 

It was simple enough but extremely effective. Any magic he used was sucked harmlessly into the loop of magic that flowed through the room, draining his magical energy and tiring him to the point of collapsing. And the only person who could negate the spell was Simon, as he was the one that had cast it. 

Magnus buried his face in Alec’s tunic, inhaling the fading scent of his Alpha as deeply as he could. A low moan escaped him when desire curled through him once more. He clenched on the toy inside him, the toy that simulated an Alpha’s knot. It had been in there for hours but it wasn’t enough.

_ An Alpha’s knot? What a joke!  _

Magnus gripped his dick as he wondered what it would feel like with Alec’s knot inside of himself, losing himself in Alec’s scent and thoughts of what his Alpha would do to him. 

He squirmed on his toy as he jerked himself off, desperately needing Alec to push him down into his mattress, to use his ass, to  _ own  _ him. He needed his mate to hold him gently and make love to him for hours. He needed soft touches and deep growls, hot, wet licks on his scent glands and hard grips on his hips. He needed it all. And he needed it now.

Another deep inhalation of Alec’s scent was all it took for him to cum, groaning into his mate’s tunic as his dick exploded in his hand. He didn’t even have the energy to stumble into his washroom and clean himself up, too exhausted and not nearly satisfied enough.

_ What would be the point anyway? I’m already covered in sweat and slick and old cum stains. _

Attempting to use his magic to clean himself up was just as pointless. It wouldn’t work. So he lay on his bed, panting. He winced when he realised he was scratching at his already bloody arms again, his short fingernails finding the grooves in his skin once again. Inspiration struck a moment later.

“Simon, you have to take me to your mother or my wounds will get infected!” Magnus called out. Surely his friend would let him out for medical attention?

“Good, Cat hasn’t learned how to heal infections yet, she can practice on you,” floated through the door.

“Simon! Let me out of this fucking room, NOW!” Magnus screamed, beyond frustrated and heading straight into anger. He tried to send out another fireball, thinking the washroom door made a good target but his magic was once again swallowed up by the magical loop.

All it accomplished was another wave of tiredness.  _ Tiredness. I’ll bet Simon is exhausted! _

“Simon, why don’t you head home and get yourself a decent night’s sleep? You must be exhausted. I’ll be fine here,” Magnus said as he heaved himself off the bed and stumbled over to the door, pressing his ear against the wood. He could figure out a way to get out of his room once Simon left.

Sure, he had to make it past the magical loop, the magical locks on all of the doors in his quarters, the wards that confounded anyone foolish enough to wander too close to his rooms. The wards that blocked scents and sounds, meaning he would have to guess if anyone, namely Camille, was sniffing around, were nothing. 

So what if he had to make it through the palace and halfway across the fucking realm? Of course, he had to open a portal when he wasn’t sure he could manage something as simple as cleaning himself up.

Then, just a small trip through the mortal realm, which was nothing, really, before he could climb to the heavens and mate Alec. Press every inch of himself up against Alec. Feel his Alpha’s hot breath on his skin. Have Alec grip his inner thighs and ankles and hips so hard that he was left with finger marks on his skin... 

It was nothing, he could do it. Right?

“Do you think you’re the only one who can brew a potion, Magnus? I’ll still be awake in three days time. Nice try, but I’m more than comfortable right here.”

Tears started rolling down Magnus’ face as he slid down the door when Simon crushed his hopes once more. With the crushing of his hopes came desperation once more. And desperation turned him petty.

“You don’t care about me, do you, Simon? You don’t care about how much I need him. He can help me, he can look after me, stop me from hurting,” Magnus called through the door as he curled in on himself once more. 

“Try another one,” was the answer that reached Magnus through the wood. He screwed his eyes closed as he fought himself for control. All he wanted to do was slam himself against the door until he broke it down.

“What about Cat? Do you even care that she has been fobbed off on your mother again? She must be missing me terribly. She is too young to understand why you’re keeping me from her,” Magnus said, past caring about how low the blow was. He had never needed anything more than he needed his mate.

“You wouldn’t want her to see you like this, and you know it! This is for your own good, and hers. Think about her, Magnus. If you can’t keep yourself locked up for yours and Alec’s sakes, do it for her. It's just one more day and then you can go to him, I promise,” floated through the door.

Magnus knew that Simon was right. He was just desperate. For his Alpha, for his heat to be over, just not to feel like this anymore. The worst part was, it wasn’t just a physical need, it was an emotional one too. Yes, he wanted to spend his heat with Alec, but he also wanted what went along with it. The loving embrace of his mate. The reassurance of his Alpha’s presence. The consequences of sleeping with Alec while he was in heat.

His body wasn’t just craving a knot, it was craving the family that came with it. He desperately wanted what other couples got to have, a child of his own, of their own. Not just  _ a _ child, he wanted  _ their _ child, a baby that was a mixture of him and Alec. Every part of his body was screaming that he needed it, was ready for all of it, from the ache in his gut to the emptiness in his arms, arms that should be wrapped around their child.

He wanted to be able to sit Alec down and tell him that they were going to be parents, to watch joy erupt on Alec’s face. He wanted the fussing that was inevitable, knowing that Alec would be protective and attentive and loving. He wanted to watch his mate rock their child in his arms. He wanted to  _ feel  _ his baby growing inside of him.

It clawed away at him like nothing else, the desperate need. It was like physical pain, scaping his insides. He dragged himself to his feet and stumbled back to his bed. Picking Alec’s tunic up, he shrugged it on to surround himself in Alec’s scent before he scooped up the potion from his nightstand. He downed the second half of the bottle and crawled into his bed, wishing sleep would claim him.

His eyelids drooped as he curled into a ball and held the neckline of Alec’s tunic to his nose, sniffling his tears away. His hand found his abdomen, brushing small circle into his skin, under the tunic as he imagined what it would feel like, to make life, to protect it with his body, wondering what the little kicks would feel like.

As much as Magnus wanted to sleep, it wouldn’t come. He was weary down to his bones. He tried to close his eyes, willing sleep to come but he knew that it was useless. Even if he could, by some miracle, fall asleep, he was far too uncomfortable anyway. He felt like he was crawling out of his skin.

Magnus’ thoughts turned to the last time he saw Alec, standing on their porch and kissing his Alpha like there was no tomorrow for them. There had been a tomorrow, it had just happened to be the day that his heat had arrived. 

They had spent four nights, just the three of them, eating and flying together, putting Cat to bed, making love to each other all night. He shied away from thoughts of that, for fear it would turn him too desperate again.

Instead, his thoughts turned to how he had spent his days. With his father and Camille. Just thinking of being forced to endure her company had him scowling. She had watched him like a hawk when he had returned from the mortal realm to find her waiting for him in his quarters after that first night. He had kicked her out, using Alec’s words and touch to strengthen him but her presence in the palace still rankled. 

He didn’t know what was worse, the way she had acted charming and sincere around him, or the way she had insisted they spend time together, along with Cat. Camille was never more dangerous, or vindictive than when she was acting sweet. Asmodeus had agreed with her, tagging along, like some chaperone on a date, insisting that Cat and Camille got to know one another.

He had spared Cat as much as he could, explaining that she was busy with her studies, Cat really didn’t like Camille, at all. It had taken him convincing Asmodeus that it would benefit them to have a healer around the place to get his father to drop the ridiculous idea of happy families.

So he had endured Camille like a bad smell, showing her around the realm that she had seen hundreds of times before and putting in the minimum of effort while doing it. Escaping her had gotten harder and harder over the four days it had taken for his heat to arrive but he had managed it each night, collecting Cat and returning to their home to be with Alec.

Magnus looked up from the blank spot on the blanket he had been staring at when the wards went off, again. He sighed a long, drawn-out breath and stumbled from the bed, scooping up a pair of loose cotton pants and hastily throwing them on before stumbling to the door and pressing his ear up to the wood.

“Simon, is it her again?” Magnus asked through the door, pressing up against it and straining to hear anything. As hard as he tried, all he could hear was Simon, pacing outside his door. 

“It’s Fine, Magnus, it's her but she can’t get in,” Simon said, his eyes darting from Magnus’ bedroom door to the double doors that marked the entrance to Magnus’ quarters. “Just get some rest, okay?” he asked, waiting for Magnus’ muffled reply and the shuffling of feet before he darted across the hallway, towards the double doors.

Waving his fingers, Simon created a one-way window in the wood of the doors, watching with narrowed eyes as Camille paced the hallway outside. He could see the way her eyes would slide over the place where the doors were supposed to be, never quite landing. It wasn’t the first time she had been by over the last couple of days but it ended the same each time, with her getting confused and leaving.

Simon watched as Camille stopped her pacing to rub at her temples. He could see her sniffing the air, a scowl marring her pretty features when she stopped, obviously unable to smell anything. He grinned when she started pacing again, looking thoroughly confused before she stopped once more.

The sight of her raising her hands and pushing at something invisible had his grin fading. To Camille, the place she had her hands pressed against should look like nothing more than a blank stretch of wall, the magic that he and Magnus had weaved should be telling her that there was nothing there and that there never was.

Something about the way she pressed her hands against the thin air that should feel solid under her hands, had Simon worried. Sure, her magic was strong, but so was his and Magnus’. He breathed a sigh of relief when she lost her temper and started kicking at the empty space before throwing her hands up in the air and storming back down the corridor.

Simon closed the window with a flick of his wrist when Camille disappeared. He scrubbed his hand over his face, rubbing his tiredness away, for all of his talk about the strength of his potion, he was exhausted and on edge.

Glaring at the mattress that he had set up outside of Magnus’ bedroom door, Simon turned towards Magnus’ living room instead. He wandered over to the table and poured himself another dose of the potion that had been keeping him awake since Magnus’ heat had started.

Grimacing at the taste, he slumped onto Magnus’ couch, wondering how Izzy was getting along with Clary. He had set the same wards and spells on Clary and Jace’s cabin, along with Magnus, behind Clary’s back. She had insisted that she didn't need them but after talking with Izzy about her heat, the two of them had gone ahead and cast the spells anyway.

A deep longing for his mate ran through Simon at that moment, he missed her as much as he was sure Magnus missed Alec. 

It seemed entirely unfair that they couldn’t be together while Magnus and Clary were in heat but he knew that there was no way either of them could be left alone and that Magnus and Clary would need to be with Alec and Jace after their heats had ended, if the way he and Izzy had been after her heat had been any indication. 

So they had agreed between themselves that they would give the two couples one day together. He would look after Cat while Magnus and Alec spent some time together. He felt bad for Cat too but she had been more understanding than any of them had expected after his mother had sat her down and had a proper talk with her about Alphas and Omegas and heats, healer to healer. 

“You get one day together, then I’m taking Izzy into our cabin and shutting you all out for a week,” Simon muttered to himself as he heaved himself to his feet and snapped his fingers, producing a plate of beef and vegetables for Magnus.

Squaring his shoulders, Simon strode from the room, ready to wrestle Magnus back from the door long enough to deliver the plate of food to his friend so that he didn’t starve. Not that Magnus had eaten much of the food he had brought him over the last couple of days.

“You owe me big time, Magnus, and I intend to collect at some point,” Simon muttered to himself as he released the magical lock on Magnus’ door and burst through it before Magnus could get on to the fact that he was coming in.

Simon darted into the room and practically flung the plate onto Magnus’ nightstand before Magnus could even register his presence. He raised his fists as he backed away, knowing that his magic was useless in the room.

“Back off, Magnus, It’s for your own good,” Simon yelled when Magnus ignored the food and made a beeline for him. He started kicking out as he backed towards the door, using the length of his leg to his advantage to keep Magnus at bay. He looked ridiculous, like he was doing some weird dance but it worked, his friend darting back before trying again.

“Just let me out, Simon, and nobody will get hurt,” Magnus snarled, dancing back from Simon when his friend aimed another kick at him. He reached out to grab at Simon’s leg but he was too sluggish from his potion. If he could just make it out through the wards and into the hallway, he could access his magic again.

Simon backed up until he felt the wooden door at his back. He kicked out once more, quickly opening the door and darting back through it when Magnus moved back once more. He slammed the door and snapped his fingers, magically locking it, just in time to hear a thud.

“You’ll thank me when your heat is over,” Simon shouted when Magnus started pounding on the door. He felt awful for Magnus but it had to be like this, they didn’t have any other choice.

Simon was breathing heavily as he leant against the wood, sliding down it as he gulped in the fresh air from the hallway. Magnus’ scent was strong! Enough to almost make him dizzy.

“One more day,” Simon called, reassuring himself more than he was Magnus. “It will be over tomorrow. Just one more day.”

** 

Alec snarled as he followed after Jace, dropping from the heavens quickly. His stupid brother had gotten the jump on him and disappeared before he had realised that Jace was gone. It only took one guess for him to know where Jace was going.

Alec put on another burst of speed, flying fast, as their retreat came into view. He barreled into Jace when they were still ten feet off the shoreline of the lake, yanking Jace by his neck as he wrapped an arm around it.

“Jace, stop! Think about Clary,” Alec growled as they fell from the air and rolled across the pebbles and sand, pain that he ignored raking through his wings.

“I am thinking about Clary, you know what it was like for Izzy,” Jace snarled when they came to a stop with Alec sitting on his chest. “She needs me and honestly? I don’t give a fuck anymore. She is my mate!” he yelled as pain shot through his wings. He willed his iratze to work as he tried to wrestle his brother.

“You will if you mate her,” Alec shouted, scrabbling for Jace when his brother managed to push him off and wriggle free. He launched himself at Jace’s legs, wrapping his arms around them and pulling them from beneath him.

“No, actually, you won’t. Because you won’t remember her. One look at her feather in your wing and Raziel will have no choice. He will have to call an enclave and we will all have to cast you out!” Alec yelled when he managed to wrestle Jace into submission.

“The entire Host, is that what you want? To have to face Michael? Raziel won’t have any sway over him when it comes to this and he won’t want to,” Alec said, breathing heavily as he stared down into Jace’s mismatched eyes.

“So Raziel gets to have his mate, because Michael is an angel, and he just gets to condemn the rest of us?” Jace asked furiously, breathing just as hard as Alec was.

“It’s not just him, Jace, it’s all of the archangels. Raziel just happens to be the one that has to deliver the blow,” Alec said with a sad shake of his head. 

Their commander would go to the furthest realm of the heavens and back to protect one of his own but this was something that none of the archangels would budge on.

“You don’t unders…” Jace started before Alec cut him off.

“Understand? Are you fucking kidding? It’s taking everything I have inside of me not to fight my way into Edom and hunt Magnus down,” Alec said, glaring down at Jace. “just the thought of what could be happening to him makes my skin crawl. For all I know, Asmodeus and Camille could be forcing their way past Simon right now and there's not a damn thing I can do about it,” he said, falling onto his ass and burying his face in his hands.

“I am failing him when I should be there to protect him. I’m hanging on by a thread as fine as a strand of hair when all I want to do is go to him and hold him close, reassure him that it will all be okay. But I can’t. So don’t you dare tell me that I don’t understand,” Alec almost screamed in his frustration. 

“I’m sorry, Alec. I know you understand, it’s just not fair, on any of us,” Jace said quietly, staring at his brother. Alec looked broken. He knew exactly how Alec felt, feeling it himself. Useless, angry, desperate.

Jace looked up when he heard a door open, to see Izzy standing a few feet off the ground. He shuffled away from Alec and climbed to his feet, walking towards her. He gulped at the expression on her face, flinching slightly when he caught sight of the black eye she was sporting, just as dark as his had been the week before.

A strange feeling came over Jace as he approached his sister. If he had to describe it, he would say it was confusion. He knew that he wanted to reach her but wasn’t quite sure why. The closer he got to her, the more confused he became about why he was there. 

Alec looked up at Jace, watching him walk towards the two cabins on the lake’s shore.  _ Two? But there should be three.  _ He stood up and followed Jace, forgetting all about the third cabin when he reached his brother.

“What are you doing here?” Izzy hissed when her brothers approached the porch she was standing on. She uncurled the whips that were wrapped around her arms as she watched them approach, a small smile tugging the corners of her mouth up at the dumb looks on their faces.

“I came… I wanted to… I… I don’t know?” Jace said lamely when he stood a few feet away from Izzy. he eyed her whips with a raised eyebrow. “I came to see Clary!” he exclaimed when it came back to him.  _ But why?  _ He wondered, rubbing at his temples when a mild headache began to form as he strained to think of why he was there.

“Get out of here, both of you. She doesn't need this. Its torture enough for her as it is. She doesn’t need you hanging around out here when she can’t have you,” Izzy said as quietly as she could. “Get him out of here,” she said to Alec, backing towards the front door of her brother’s cabin.

Alec was thoroughly confused. He could hear his sister’s footsteps but she was standing in thin air, surrounded by nothing. He reached out and tugged Jace back, scratching at the back of his head.

“Come on, we’re covering for Izzy on patrol tonight,” Alec said as he took hold of Jace’s arm and pulled him away. He blinked when Izzy disappeared with what sounded like the closing of a door.

Jace became even more confused when they retreated, memory flooding back as they moved away from where Izzy had been floating. He blinked his confusion away as he remembered exactly why he had come. He whirled around to find that his cabin was gone. He looked from Izzy’s cabin to Alec’s, irritated when his own was still gone.

“Those must be Magnus and Simon’s protections,” Alec said when his own memories came flooding back. He was pretty sure he had been standing within ten feet of the cabin but he had been confounded. It was as though he had more important things to remember.

“Come on, we have patrol,” Alec said again, turning away from the place where the cabin should have been. He bent a knee when Jace did, forcing himself to return to his own realm. While the wards and magic were impressive, they barely brought him any comfort for Magnus’ safety.

“It will be over tomorrow and I’m never letting him go again,” Alec muttered to himself as he climbed, trying not to dwell on the fact that he didn’t know if there would be a tomorrow for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, I'm such a bitch. I know I shouldn't but the image of Simon doing the cancan to keep Magnus back made me laugh way harder than it should have. 
> 
> I know y'all wanted them to spend Magnus' heat together but, this time, it's not meant to be. Sorry, don't kill me. There is a reason that Y'all will thank me for later.


	21. A Foreshadowing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, a quick announcement. I will be doing another smut challenge, running from 1st of Feb until the 25th to get us ready for 3B so I need prompts for it, please. DM me on Twitter or Instagram, @AtowncalledMalec for Insta and @AtowncaledMalec on twitter or you can leave a request in the comments. I won't write rape or multiple partners but anything else goes. I'll still be posting this too. looking forward to hearing your requests x

 

Magnus shuddered as he cleaned himself down with the cold water that Simon had brought him as he had dozed after finally succumbing to the effects of his potion. He would have prefered hot water but he made do, eager to be clean. His ass was barely leaking and the sweating had calmed down, both signs that his heat was passing. His head whipped around when the wards went off once again.

 

He finished washing as quickly as he could when Simon failed to reset the wards, confusion pulling his eyebrows down into one thin line. Drying off hastily, Magnus struggled into a fresh set of leathers and emerged from the washroom.

 

He softened his footsteps and crept towards his bedroom door when he heard raised voices, pressing his ear to the wood. The confusion turned to anger when he heard Camille and Simon shouting at one another. He stepped back from the door when a sudden pounding on it preceded the lock clicking open.

 

Magnus had to fight his entire body for control when the door opened. His heat may have been passing, and the uncontrollable, desperate desire with it, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to blast his way out of the palace and hunt his Alpha down. It wasn’t over yet. 

 

Magnus’ eyes narrowed when Camille appeared in his doorway, looking a little worse for wear and more than slightly ruffled, no doubt Dimon’s doing. Her scent filled the room as she took a small step forward, making Magnus shudder. He noted with a small surge of satisfaction that her scent was no more alluring than usual, it didn’t turn him into a mindless idiot who fell at her feet. 

 

He was pretty sure she was trying to use it as a weapon like she usually did as she strode closer. She used her scent the same way she used her beauty and charm, to attract willing fools, to trap her victims into believing that she was harmless and desirable, before turning on them.

 

“Are you lost, Camille?” Magnus asked through gritted teeth, folding his arms over his chest as he glared at her, his expression darkening when Camille started sniffing the air with a calculating expression on her face.  It made him feel vulnerable and dirty, knowing she could scent the occasional leak of slick. He looked over her shoulder when Simon appeared, clutching the back of his head.

 

“Magnus, I tried to stop…” Simon began before Camille interjected.

 

“Your lapdog seemed to be under the impression that I was trespassing. I was merely coming to check on you, we haven’t seen you for days. Are you ill?” Camille asked, glaring at Simon, still furious that it had taken her three days to bypass his wards and spells, before her gaze found Magnus again. She pulled her most charming smile onto her face as she reached out to place her hand on Magnus’ arm.

 

“You  _ are _ trespassing,” Magnus said, jerking back from Camille’s touch. He turned his back on her, and the open door, from fear that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from running through it and taking off for the mortal realm. “You aren’t welcome in here, Camille, please leave,” he said, keeping his back to her as he screwed his eyes shut and locked his muscles down.

 

“Magnus, it’s me you’re talking to,” Camille said, staring at Magnus’ back. She had expected him to be more… pliable. She recovered from Magnus’ sudden move quickly, clearing her throat with a small chuckle. “Come, my love, why don’t we sit down? We can have a proper catch-up, just the two of us,” she said, glaring over at Simon, hoping he would get the hint.

 

“What part of “unwelcome” do you not understand?” Magnus asked, spinning on the spot when Camille’s hand landed on his shoulder. He pictured Alec’s face firmly in his mind as he scowled at her, gaining strength from  _ his  _ Alpha, from the words Alec had said after that abysmal dinner and all of the words of encouragement since. 

 

“I don’t want you here,” Magnus said, shaking his head at Camille when she once again reached out to him., stepping back once more

 

“Of course I’m welcome here,” Camille growled, pushing a little bit of Alpha into her voice at the defiant look on Magnus’ face. She tried her best to hide her smirk when Magnus shuddered, thinking she was affecting the Omega in him. She did it again. “I am  _ always  _ welcome here. Come now, Magnus, I’m here to help you.”

 

Magnus shuddered with revulsion at the suggestion in Camille’s words and the Alpha in her tone. The thought of her “helping” him through his heat turned his stomach and the fact that she was trying to use her status on him only made her more disgusting to him. There was only one person he would have wanted to help him through his heat, and it certainly wasn’t Camille.

 

“That’s enough, Camille. He doesn’t want you here, now leave,” Simon said, infusing his own tone with an Alpha cadence. Two could play at her game. He stepped forward when she turned on him, his eyes narrowing at the expression on her face. It was a cross between anger and calculation. Camille was dangerous when she was angry, but add in that calculating look and she turned unpredictable.

 

“Why don’t  _ you _ leave? A real Alpha can help him in his time of need, you hardly qualify,” Camille snapped at Simon, glaring when he didn't back down. She couldn’t think of an Alpha less able to help an Omega through his heat and was baffled by the fact that Magnus had chosen Simon, of all people, to help him. She had thought...

 

“ _ You  _ aren't my Alpha, I can manage perfectly well without  _ your  _ help. This discussion is over. Leave, now,” Magnus said, doing nothing to stifle his anger. He was feeling better and better by the minute and knew his heat was passing in earnest now, it made him feel less vulnerable, more confident.

 

“Magnus….” Camille tried with her most commanding tone, furious at the inflexions Magnus had used. She was shut down quickly.

 

“Get the fuck out of here,” Magnus shouted, staring disbelievingly at Camille. “When are you going to get it? I am not yours! I don't belong to you, I can't bear the sight of you. I am not the weak idiot that forgives you time and time again, Camille. Not any more. I will  _ never  _ take you back again. I don't need you and I don't love you. So get the fuck out of here and don't stop until you are out of the realm,” he screamed, letting out centuries worth of frustration.

 

“You heard him, get out,” Simon said, wrapping his hand around the top of Camille's arm and pulling her away as pride for Magnus flooded him. He hadn't missed the way Camille had taken another step towards Magnus.

 

“You’re really choosing  _ him _ over me?” Camille asked, yanking her arm free of Simon’s grip and spinning on the spot to look Magnus dead in the eye.

 

“I will  _ always  _ choose him over you. You don’t even come close,” Magnus said, thinking of Alec as he said the words, his tone sure, filled with the strength that Alec gave him. She would never compare to Alec.

 

“You really shouldn’t make an enemy of me, Magnus. It won’t end well for you,” Camille promised with a hiss. She jerked her arm away once more when Simon made to grab it and stormed towards the doorway before looking over her shoulder. “You should have just done as you were told,” she tossed at Magnus before storming out of the room.

 

“Magnus, I’m so sorry. I don’t know how she figured it out,” Simon said when they heard the front doors to Magnus’ quarter's slam. “I don’t even know how she got in here. I stepped into the guest washroom for a minute and when I returned she was standing there in the living room,” he said.

 

Magnus frowned in confusion before turning for his bedroom door. He patted Simon’s hand when it landed on his arm.

 

“It’s okay, my heat is passing. I’m in control of myself,” Magnus assured Simon before he let go and left his bedroom. He flexed his fingers, feeling a faint sense of relief when sparks emanated from his hands when he cleared the magical loop.

 

Beckoning for Simon to follow, Magnus strode into his living room, looking around. His eyes narrowed when they landed on the hidden servant's door to the left of the fireplace, slightly ajar. It blended seamlessly with the wall while closed and hadn’t been used in centuries, he preferred to clean his own rooms, rather than rely on others to clean up after him.

 

“That sneaky bitch. That’s how she got in,” Magnus said as he strode over to the door and opened it fully, peaking into the narrow, dimly lit corridor. He could smell a faint trace of Camille’s scent wafting down the passageway.

 

“I almost forgot about these. How did she even know about it?” Simon asked, looking over Magnus’ shoulder. He remembered when they were kids, the three of them would spend hours running through the passageways that ran through the thick walls of the entire palace, a network of corridors used by the servent’s to move from room to room when cleaning or running errands so that Asmodeus didn’t have to see them.

 

“I’ll give you two guesses, although, I’m sure you’ll only need one. It seems my father really is determined to mate me off to her, he’s never gone this far before,” Magnus said, his eyes narrowing as he slammed the door closed. “She must have travelled the entire network to get in here. I didn’t even think about extending the protections down that passageway.”

 

“We can include it next time,” Simon said feeling like he had failed Magnus. He had almost had a heart attack when he had walked into the living room and found Camille in there. “I’ll do better next time, I swear,” he muttered, rubbing at the nape of his neck.

 

“Simon, you did an amazing job. Thank you, I don’t know what I would have done without you over the last few days. I have no doubt that I would have found a way to get out if you hadn't been here,” Magnus said earnestly, resting his hand on Simon’s arm to assure him. 

 

Magnus could say that now, be grateful for it, now that his head was clear. As much as he wanted to be with Alec and start a family with him, they couldn’t risk it, couldn’t risk bringing a child into the world, not with the punishment that loomed over their heads if such a child was conceived and not with the likes of Camille around. 

 

He was pretty sure she would stoop low enough to threaten any children he bore that weren’t hers. She already looked at Cat with thinly disguised dislike, he could only imagine the kind of contempt she would hold for any biological child of his if she wasn’t the other parent of it.

 

“Oh, well, I didn’t really do anything besides keep you prisoner in your own bedroom for three days. And kick you when you tried to escape. Sorry about that, it’s just that, well, you were determined,” Simon said, slightly embarrassed by the small flush he could feel on his cheeks.

 

“You kept me safe, Simon. That potion might not have worked as it was supposed to but it still made me sluggish and weak,” Magnus said, patting Simon’s blushing cheek. “I dread to think about what would have happened if Camille had made it through earlier, I wouldn’t have had the strength to fight her off if she had tried to force anything,” he said.

 

“Do you think she would have gone that far?” Simon asked, trying not to imagine walking in to find Camille forcing herself on Magnus, it was an image that he never wanted to imagine. It had him vowing to be extra vigilant during Magnus’ next heat.

 

“I would hope not,” Magnus shuddered, pushing the thoughts away. “I’m pretty sure she was relying on my desperation. She probably expected me to throw myself at her feet. It’s just as bad if you ask me,” he said with a shudder.

 

“Sure, she is irresistible!” Simon said, rolling his eyes at Camille’s conceited attitude. She could be the prettiest demon in all of the realms and it still wouldn’t make one bit of difference to her stinking attitude.

 

“You did so well though, standing up to her like that, I’m so proud of you, Magnus,” Simon said, pulling Magnus into a back-slapping hug. “I’ve waited centuries to watch you go off on her like that, it was way past due. I particularly liked the part where you said you would always choose him over her. You were talking about Alec, weren’t you?” he asked with a grin.

 

“Yes, and I meant every word of it, although, I think she was talking about you,” Magnus said, his heart skipping a beat when he thought of Alec. A wave of desire ran through him at the thought of his Alpha. Not the uncontrollable urge to be pinned down and taken but a need for his mate nonetheless.

 

“Ugh, she thought I was in here fucking you silly over the last three days?” Simon asked. The only person he wanted to fuck for three straight days was Izzy. He tried, once again, to push thoughts of what it would be like to spend Izzy’s heat with her, away. He did that a lot! 

 

“She probably thought you were in here taking advantage of me while I was crazy with need,” Magnus said, shaking his head at how disgusting Camille was. Simon would never do that, to him or anyone else. 

 

Magnus’ head whipped around when the wards went off once more. He dashed out into his hallway and twirled his fingers, opening a one-way window in the wood of the door. The sight that greeted him had Magnus removing the wards and flinging the doors open.

 

“Hello my sweet, beautiful girl,” Magnus said when the confusion slid off of Cat's face before she bounded forward, followed by Elaine. He scooped Cat up into his arms, unfurling his wings and wrapping them around her too. “Did you miss me? Because I missed you,” he said.

 

“So, SO much!”  Cat said, sinking into Magnus’ embrace and burying her head in Magnus’ neck. She inhaled deeply, taking in Magnus’ strong scent.

 

“I couldn't keep her away any longer,” Elaine said, closing the double doors behind her, smiling at the way Cat and Magnus were wrapped around each other. She had done her best to distract Cat but had run out of ideas on how to entertain the child.

 

“I see you managed to resist Camille,” Elaine said, her eyes roving over Magnus’ pristine wings and noting that, thankfully, they didn't contain one of Camille's ugly feathers. She looked him over when he put Cat down.

 

Magnus just nodded as he endured Elaine’s inspection, the healer wouldn’t be put off until she was sure he was okay. It wasn’t such a hardship, he liked Elaine, even if she was far too astute for his own good.

 

“You need an Alpha, Magnus, someone to look after you, and that sweet girl,” Elaine said when she had healed the scratches on Magnus’ arms and deemed him fit. “Just like Simon needs to find himself a mate. I want grandchildren!” she said, turning her gaze on her son. 

 

Elaine had her suspicions that Simon had found somebody but she couldn’t for the life of her work out why he was keeping it a secret. She wasn’t stupid, she knew he was hiding something. She too had snook out at all hours of the day and night when she had first started courting Simon’s father. It had been exciting, sneaking around with the bad boy fallen angel. 

 

“Mother, I’m barely six centuries old, I have plenty of time for all of that,” Simon said, exchanging a look with Magnus to avoid his mother’s gaze. He could see from Magnus’ expression that his friend was just as uncomfortable with the conversation as he was.

 

“Nobody would fault you if you mated somebody you liked, rather than waiting. It worked out for your father and me,” Elaine said. She wondered, not for the first time if maybe Simon was being so secretive because he hadn’t found his true mate. She knew from experience that Simon would grow to love whoever it was, she had loved his father as strongly as if he had been hers. “There’s no shame in falling in love, Simon.”

 

“Do you mean that?” Simon asked, unable to stop himself. He would dearly love to introduce his mother to Izzy, knowing that they would get on, how could they not? Aside from the fact that Izzy was an angel. Maybe his mother wasn’t as prejudiced against angels, his father had once been an angel after all, even if his mother had been born a demon. But he still couldn’t risk it.

 

“Of course! As long as they aren’t someone like Camille,” Elaine smiled. She could put up with anyone, as long as they weren’t like that stark raving lunatic. She had seen the state Camille had left Magnus in more times than she cared to count, the bitch had broken him too many times for her liking and her dearest wish was for Camille to contract wing rot.

 

“You both deserve to fall in love. Whoever you both end up mating will be two lucky people!” Elaine said with a smile, cupping her hands to Simon and Magnus’ cheeks. “So hurry up and get to it, both of you,” she said, giving each boy a light slap on the cheek to drive the message home before she spread her wings.

 

“I am going home to get some sleep, the little one has had me up for two days,” Elane said, raising her eyebrows at Cat. She blew the girl a kiss before turning on her heel.

 

“Ha, and you want grandchildren,” Simon called after his mother’s retreating back before he turned on his heel to start removing the wards from the doors and windows in the apartment.

 

Magnus watched Elaine walk through the door, extremely conscious of the gap in her wing where her mate’s feather should reside. He had met her after she had sought sanctuary in Edom, Simon’s father having already been killed, so he had never gotten to see her steel tipped black wings with another feather nestled in there. 

 

Simon had explained to him and Clary when they had been children that his father's feather had fallen out of his mother’s wing the moment his father had died and that his mother had kept it, too heartbroken to get rid of it. 

 

Magnus shook his morbid thoughts of what it would be like to lose a mate, even one that had been chosen, rather than fated when Cat tugged on his pants. He lifted her up and sat her on his hip, raising his eyebrow in silent question.

 

“Why couldn’t we see the door when we got here?” Cat asked, unable to understand why she had been so confused when she had dragged Elaine back to the palace. She had almost forgotten why she had returned.

 

“Because we had wards around our quarters, to keep uninvited guests away,” Magnus said with a smile. He noted the scowl on her face.

 

“I’m not a guest!” Cat said indignantly.

 

“Of course you're not, little one,” Magnus said, pressing kisses to Cat’s squidgy cheeks. “They were to keep Camille and my father away while I was in heat,” he said.

 

“Is it over now?” Cat asked, grinning at the thought of Asmodeus and Camille being confused as they stared at the blank stretch of wall that should have contained their front doors.

 

“Yes, it’s over now. I won’t have to go through that for another three months,” Magnus said, breathing a sigh of relief. He still felt tired and wanted Alec more than he could put into words but he was glad that it was over. He carried Cat through the apartment, removing the magical loop and last of the wards as he went.

 

Cat watched Magnus’ magic spark through the air, eager to try it herself. A small wave of disappointment coursed through her when Magnus told her he was finished, she wanted to help.

 

“Can we go and see Alec soon?” Cat asked when they settled onto the couch in the living room, Simon joining them on her other side, wedging her between him and Magnus.

 

“Do you think you can wait until tomorrow? I need to go and see him by myself and talk about adult things with him,” Magnus said, feeling awful when he saw the look of disappointment that Cat wasn’t quite quick enough to hide. As much as he had missed her, he needed the alone time with his mate like he needed air.

 

“How about you stay with me for the rest of the day and I will take you to see Alec and Magnus tomorrow, okay?” Simon asked.

 

If Cat asked again, Magnus would let her come, he found it hard to deny her anything but Cat simply nodded, giving him a greater gift than she realised.

 

“Are you going now?” Cat asked, nodding her agreement, they always had tomorrow to be together.

 

“Not right now, I can spend the morning with my favourite little demon,” Magnus said, pushing his desire for his mate down to spend some time with Cat, he really had missed her. He had to laugh, mainly at the expression on Simon’s face when Cat snapped her fingers with a little giggle of glee.

 

“Good, that means we have time to make you pretty,” Cat said delightedly. “We can make you look pretty too, Simon,” she said, digging through the makeup she had summoned, picking colours out for Magnus and Simon’s faces.

 

“Sure, can’t wait,” Simon said, glaring at the bright blue powder Cat picked up. He watched with dread as Cat opened the pot up and gouged her finger through the powder.

 

“Blue is my favourite colour,” Cat said, scooping some of the powder out of the tub and rubbing it over first Magnus’ eyelids, then, scooping more out, she piled it onto Simon’s eyelids. “Very pretty!” she said.

 

“Do you need a brush, little one?” Magnus asked when Cat finished stabbing at his eyelids and started on Simon’s, choosing not to comment on the shade of blue that Cat had picked out.

 

“No! It looks better when you do it with your fingers,” Cat exclaimed, poking her tongue out as she finished putting the powder on Simon’s eyes. She dug through the box again, selecting some bright rouge and applying it to Magnus and Simon’s lips and cheeks. Yes, they were going to look very pretty indeed!

 

**

 

Magnus cleared his portal without a minute to lose, scrubbing at his face along the way. He could have removed Cat’s abysmal attempt at makeup with a snap of his fingers but it always felt nicer, fresher, to clean his face properly. And he didn’t need makeup when he was going to see his Alpha, Alec loved his face made up or bare.

 

Reminding himself to teach Cat the finer points of applying rouge, Magnus put on a greater burst of speed, turning to a bronze blur in his haste to see Alec. He beat his wings hard, not even bothering to find the thermals, he just wanted his Alpha’s arms around him, having spent more time with Cat than he had planned.

 

Wrapping his wings around himself, Magnus plummeted towards his cabin when he cleared to mountains. He dropped fast, only spreading his wings when he was a few feet off of the ground, and landing lightly at the foot of the porch steps.

 

Magnus stood still for a split second when the front door opened and he found Alec waiting for him, watching as Alec’s eyes searched him from head to toe, hazel eyes lingering on his black wings. 

 

Magnus bounded up the steps and launched himself the last few feet, landed in Alec’s outstretched arms when he saw the relief on his Alpha’s face. He wrapped himself completely around his mate and sank into his embrace, inhaling his beautiful scent and thanking whoever would listen that he was with his Alpha once more, where he should have been for the last three days.

 

The solid presence of his Omega in his arms and Magnus’ overpowering, hot scent almost had Alec weeping with joy and relief. Magnus’ beautiful bronze speckled black wings, free of any other feathers and Magnus looking like he was in one piece was even more overwhelming than he had been expecting. He thanked The Host that his mate had returned to him.

 

“You’re okay! Are you? Did she try anything? Did she get to you?” Alec asked, his hands trying to pat Magnus down, wanting to be sure that Magnus had returned unharmed. It was a mammoth feat not to push Magnus down right there from his divine scent but his Omega’s wellbeing was more important right then.

 

“I’m okay, she didn’t hurt me, she didn’t get the chance to,” Magnus said, deciding he would tell Alec everything that had happened later. Right now he wanted to lose himself in his Alpha, to focus on him and Alec and fuck the rest of the world and all of the realms. This was what mattered to him. 

 

Magnus clutched Alec’s face and claimed his lips, sinking into a toe-curling kiss, invading Alec’s mouth like it was the last time. It didn’t take a fraction of a second for his mate to return the kiss, making him moan into Alec’s mouth when his Alpha won the fight for dominance. He happily submitted.

 

“Fuck! You smell so good,” Alec growled when he broke the kiss. He gripped under Magnus’ thighs as he stumbled back into the cabin, kicking the door closed behind them and pinning Magnus to it. “I missed you,” he whispered, skimming his nose up Magnus’ neck, inhaling the strong scent his Omega was still putting out.

 

“Not as much as I missed you,” Magnus said, shivers running up and down his spine as he reacted to Alec. He let his head fall back, his eyes rolling into the back of his head when Alec’s toungue snaked out to lick at his scent glands.

 

Everything about Alec was even more intoxicating than usual to Magnus, his strong, Alpha scent, somehow even more attractive than ever before, the hard muscle’s of Alec’s body where he was wrapped around it, the strong grip under his left thigh, Alec’s other hand, gripping his ass hard and holding him up effortlessly.

 

Magnus tugged him closer, a small moan escaping him when Alec pressed him into the wood of the door. It still wasn’t close enough, he needed to feel Alec everywhere. He snapped his fingers, removing their clothes in an instant, too impatient to wait. 

 

A growl of approval ran through Alec when he and Magnus were naked. He pressed forward, even more, skin to skin with his Omega. Magnus’ scent was even stronger without the barrier of their clothes.

 

Magnus looked down into Alec’s lust blown eyes when Alec pulled back from his neck, seeing how wide his pupils were. It had him rolling his hips as he claimed Alec’s lips once more, breathing heavily into his Alpha’s mouth. A breathless moan ripped out of him when he felt Alec’s bobbing erection at the crack of his ass.

 

Magnus pulled back from the kiss when he felt Alec’s dick. He unwound his arms and legs to land on his feet, spinning on the spot and practically offering his ass up to his Alpha. 

 

“Fuck me, Alexander, please,” Magnus groaned as he gripped the doorframe. He needed to be dominated, to pushed into the wood, to feel every inch of Alec pressed up against him. He needed Alec to fuck him hard and there was no way he could wait until they made it to the bedroom.

 

Alec certainly didn’t need asking twice, he was as hard as a rock as he stared down at Magnus’ ass, his eyes travelling up the perfect arch of Magnus’ spine. He moulded himself to Magnus’ back, wrapping one arm around his Omega’s stomach and finding his jaw with the other hand.

 

Alec turned Magnus’ head, licking into his mate’s mouth when Magnus opened up, the second their lips met. He growled into the kiss when Magnus arched further, to be able to kiss him and rub up against his dick at the same time. He splayed his fingers across Magnus’ stomach, pulling his Omega into him as his own hips rolled forward.

 

“Alexander, don’t tease me, I’ve been on the edge for three days,” Magnus muttered when Alec’s dick sawed through his drenched ass crack, even as he rocked against it.

 

“Believe me, I’m not teasing you, I’m letting you know exactly what you’re getting,” Alec gritted out, his low voice like gravel. He snapped his hips forward once more, the Alpha in him practically screaming for it when Magnus let out a husky whine of  _ “fuck!”.  _

 

Alec moved back infinitesimally, giving himself only enough room to grab hold of his dick and position it at Magnus’ entrance. “Don’t worry, I’m going to take care of you, I’m going to give you every inch, my love,” He whispered in Magnus’ ear as he started to push into his Omega.

 

“Fuck! Fuck fuck  _ fuck!”  _ Magnus moaned when Alec’s dick pushed through his rim. He moved his own hips back, still too desperate from his finished heat to register anything other than pleasure, coming up on his toes to arch his back further. He pressed his forehead into the wood of the door when the hand that wasnt gripping his hip moved to his wings.

 

Magnus pushed his hips flush against Alec’s, gripping the doorframe harder when Alec’s fingers brushed through the feathers at the base of his wings, his knuckles turning white. He moaned, a husky, throaty moan from the shivers running through his wings and down his spine.

 

Alec rolled his hips back, almost falling from his Omega’s body before pushing back in. He gave Magnus’ feathers a little tug as he thrust into him, knowing how much it got Magnus going. He was rewarded by the breathless, panting whimpers that Magnus couldn’t control and an even tighter squeeze around his dick as he sank in. It was fucking breathtaking.

 

“Like that?” Alec whispered as he pulled his hips back once more. He tugged harder when he pushed back into Magnus, his dick jerking inside his mate when Magnus met the thrust. “Is this how you want your Alpha to fuck you, my love?” he asked.

 

“Yes, yes, you have no idea how much I need it,” Magnus moaned when Alec’s hips slammed into his ass once more. It was exactly what he needed. A big part of him wanted Alec to just keep tugging until one of his feathers came loose but he knew they couldn’t, no matter how much they both wanted it.

 

As if reading Magnus’ thoughts, Alec gave his soft feathers one last tug before letting go, it was too much like tempting fate and he didn’t know how much longer he would be able to keep control of himself if he didn’t let go. He moved his hands to Magnus’ hips instead, shuffling them both back a step so he could bend Magnus over slightly.

 

Magnus would have complained at the loss of Alec’s fingers in his feathers if Alec hadn’t bent him over. He cried out at the perfection of it when Alec stopped moving and pulled him back onto his dick instead. He took the hint and fucked himself on Alec’s dick, only loving it more when Alec’s long fingers gripped him harder.

 

Alec was more than happy to let Magnus direct the pace, his head falling back as Magnus started moving faster. His fingers tightened and his breath exploded out of him every time Magnus rammed his hips back, scraping Alec’s foreskin back every single time. The slight roll of Magnus’ hips had his Omega’s walls scraping along the sensitive skin under the head of his cock, doubling the pleasure of being buried inside of him.

 

If Alec had thougt the move was pleasurable, it was nothing compared to what Magnus was feeling. The edge to the need he had been living with for the last three days was finally being taken off. He grabbed Alec’s hand on his hip, interlocking their fingers as he slammed back, again and again.

 

“Alexander, I need you closer,” Magnus moaned, arching his back a little more to try and give himself the angle he needed. He retracted his wings when Alec shuffled them forward.

 

Alec released his grip on Magnus’ hips and stepped forward to press Magnus into the door, his dick never falling from Magnus’ ass. His slid his hands up Magnus’ arms and interlocked their fingers above Magnus’ head, pressing their joined hands into the door as well, as his chest pressed up against Magnus’ smooth back.

 

“Just liked that,” Magnus gasped when Alec was moulded to his back. The fact that he couldn’t pull his hands free of Alec’ grasp made it even better. It was what he needed, to be caged in and fucked into oblivion.  

 

Alec took over once more, pressing his lips to the nape of his Omega’s neck as he started slamming into him. He lost himself in Magnus completely, overwhelmed by Magnus’ sweat-slicked body, his beautiful scent, the tight grip on his fingers and dick, the hot, husky moans pouring from his mate’s lips. 

 

Alec started to suck biting, open-mouthed kisses into Magnus’ skin, trailing his lips across Magnus’ shoulder blades, again and again, unable to get enough. He licked a trail up the back of Magnus’ neck, his teeth grazing Magnus’ skin as he went. 

 

It had them both moaning, Magnus from the sensation, Alec from the scent and taste of his Omega.

 

Magnus let his head fall back onto Alec’s shoulder when his Alpha’s lips found the side of his neck, relishing the sensations on his skin of hot lips and even hotter breath, gliding over his neck in short, ragged bursts, sending shiver after shiver down his spine. It was more than he could ask for, even needing the feeling Alec’s thighs pressing into the back of his with every thrust and Alec’s feet on either side of his own. 

 

The fact that he could feel his Alpha everywhere and the constant pressure on his prostate when he arched his back that last perfect inch brought Magnus’ release on fast. He knew Alec wouldn’t be far behind him from how jerky and sloppy Alec’s thrusts became. Just the sound of Alec’s low, desperate moans in his ear, never mind any of the rest of it, tipped him over the edge he had been living on.

 

“Alexander! Fuck,  _ Fuck! _ ” Magnus screamed when his balls tightened. He pushed back on Alec’s dick, his breath stuttering out with the spurts of cum that shot out of him and painted the door he was pressed into. He pressed his face into the crook of their entwined left arms as he rode it out, still pushing back into Alec’s thrusts. He coudln’t stop himself from clenching down from the relief of his orgasm.

 

The clench was all Alec needed for his own balls to draw up. He pulled their interlocked right hands down and wrapped their arms around Magnus’ stomach to hold Magnus to him as he shot his load deep into his Omega’s perfect ass, burying his face in Magnus’ neck as he grunted his release out.

 

Magnus knew that Alec was thinking the same thing as him when Alec’s fingers played over his stomach, knew they were both wishing that he was still in heat, that his hormones had kicked Alec’s off, that Alec was knotting him right now, that Alec was locked into him and that they couldn’t move away from each other due to no choice of their own. 

 

He knew they were both wishing for the closeness that would come with the knotting, for Alec to keep filling him up, for them to create a baby under the skin that they were both rubbing soft, slow circles into. He could feel it in the gentleness of Alec’s touch, in the way that Alec refused to move and the way he didn’t want him to, even if they were both standing on shaky legs, leaning against the door with sweaty bodies and heaving chests.

 

Alec tightened his grip on Magnus when his Omega began to shake against him. He wrapped both arms around Magnus and held him, pouring all of his love and his own desperation into the hug as his own tears started to sting at his eyes.

 

Magnus tried to blink them back but it was no use. The tears rolled down his cheeks and fell onto their entwined arms as he choked a sob out. He shuffled his hips until Alec fell from him and turned in the cage of Alec’s arms, sinking into him and going boneless. He let Alec pick him up once more, wrapping himself around Alec and burying his face into his Alpha’s neck.

 

Alec carried Magnus over to the couch that was sat in front of the roaring fire in the hearth. He sank down onto it, letting Magnus straddle him and sob into his neck as his own chest shook, silent tears roling down his own face.

 

Magnus shuffled himself as close as he possibly could, trying to drag in heaving breaths. He had never been more grateful for his Alpha than he was then, thankful that Alec’s arms tightened around him, that Alec’s hand found his hair and his Alpha’s lips found his shoulder.

 

“We’re together now,” Alec whispered into Magnus’ shoulder, knowing it wasn’t what Magnus wanted to hear. They weren’t even the words he wanted to say. He wanted to reassure Magnus that they would mate. That they would find some corner of the damned universe where they could hide and not have to spend days worrying about each other’s safety. He wanted to promise that they would have a family of their own and a certain future.

 

But Alec couldn’t promise any of that. So he tugged Magnus’ face out of his neck and cupped his hands to Magnus’ jaw, staring up into those beautiful golden eyes that he loved so much and pressed his lips to Magnus’ forehead, to his eyelids, to the tip of Magnus’ nose.

 

“I swear we will make it. One day at a time,” Alec whispered, wiping the tears from Magnus’ cheeks with his thumbs and kissing his forehead once more. “I don’t know what our future holds but I love you. Fuck the rest of the world. It’s just you and me here, right now. Forget about the rest of it and just focus on me,” he whispered against Magnus’ skin.

 

Magnus refused to open his eyes as he wrapped his hands around Alec’s wrists, holding Alec’s hands to his face. He took deep breaths, focussing on the feel of Alec’s thumbs brushing up and down his cheeks and the feeling of Alec’s lips on his forehed. 

 

“Just tell me that this won’t be our forever,” Magnus asked when he had gained enough self-control to speak. He opened his eyes and stared down into Alec’s hazel ones, his chest tightening at the love and devotion he found there. “Even if it’s a lie, tell me anyway and I’ll believe it.”

 

“It isn’t. I promise you, this isn’t how we live the rest of our lives. I don’t know how but I swear to you, one day, it will be different. We just have to stay strong and hold on until then. Okay?” Alec asked as he stared back into Magnus’ eyes, refusing to look away until Magnus nodded and curled into his chest. He wrapped his arms around Magnus and held him close, pressing his lips into his hair

 

He meant every single word, even if he had to petition every god that ever existed, he would find a way for them to be together because he refused to let this be their story.


	22. Plans Unveiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, sorry it's been so long. I'm slogging my guts out to get this and the smut challenge written up. @ me if there are too many mistakes, I've had to post in my phone as I have no access to my laptop tonight. I'll be updating weekly on a Tuesday night for the foreseeable, thanks for bearing with me 💖💖💖💖

 

“96, 97, 98, 100. Ready or not, here I come!” Simon shouted, removing his hands from his face to look around Magnus’ living room for Cat. He had introduced her to a game that he, Magnus and Clary had played as children, hoping to keep her busy until it was time to take her to the mortal realm. It was way too early in his opinion and he would much rather be in bed.

 

Cat had woken him at the crack of dawn by jumping on him and pulling at his hair until he woke up and accepted the fruit and oats she had summoned him. It had tasted plain and boring but he had dutifully eaten it when he had seen the pride shining in her eyes. 

 

They had already been playing for an hour and he still had several more to fill before enough time had passed for Magnus and Alec to have spent enough time together. He was more than ready to drop Cat off and see his mate

 

Somehow, he had already lost two rounds when Cat had been unable to avoid giggling, finding her easily enough, Cat claiming she was the winner each time. Funnily enough, he hadn’t had a turn of being the one to hide yet. He chuckled to himself as he realised how much of a sucker he was, well and truly wrapped around her little finger.

 

“I’ll wager I find you real fast,” Simon called out as he checked behind the couch, waiting for her to start laughing so he could find her. He checked every nook of the living room before making his way through the rest of Magnus’ quarters.

 

His confusion started to turn to panic when he had checked under every cushion, behind every piece of furniture and inside every closet without finding her. He did another sweep, searching thoroughly before his panic got the best of him. 

 

“Catarina, you get your skinny little butt out here now, it’s not funny anymore,” Simon yelled, raising his voice in his agitation. “I give up, you win. Just come out, now,” he shouted as he marched out into the hallway. 

 

He ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it when he realised he hadn’t heard her giggle once in the last half hour. He spun on the spot, searching for new inspiration before he noticed the entry doors to Magnus’ quarters were open a smidgeon.

 

“Surely she hasn’t gone out there,” Simon muttered to himself as he strode forward and flung both doors open, expecting to find her just outside of the doors. He couldn’t understand why she would be out there. 

 

They had heard a rumour through one of the servants that Camille had left the realm the day before, after her confrontation with Magnus but neither of them had been willing to confirm that with Asmodeus, neither of them particularly in favour of invoking his wrath. 

 

He was starting to wish that he had taken Cat back to his place instead of staying in Magnus’ quarters but he had wanted to give his mother a break. He closed the doors behind himself and started walking the hallways, checking into the rooms along the way as his panic increased.

 

“Cat? Come out now, the game is over,” Simon whisper shouted into each room as he poked his head through the doors, hoping that he wouldn’t come face to face with Asmodeus with each door he opened.

 

After Asmodeus had pounded on Magnus’ doors the night before, shouting and raving about his disappointment of a son, he really didn’t want to face the greater demon. He wasn’t ashamed to think about how he had scooped Cat up and hid in Magnus’ closet with her until Asmodeus had left when nobody had answered. Asmodeus was not the kind of demon you wanted mad at you.

 

Simon entered Asmodeus’ second library when he poked his head through the door and couldn’t see her immediately. This room was a lot bigger than the others he had checked and there were a lot of places a child could hide. He had barely taken three steps into the room when a swirl of grey smoke caught his peripheral.

 

Turning towards the smoke, Simon barely had time to register the scent that reached him as it solidified before a sharp, searing pain behind his right ear had his world turning to nothing but darkness. 

 

**

 

Cat sighed with relief when she finally pushed through a door and found herself in the library. She had gotten lost in the secret passages and had become more and more confused as she had tried to find her way out. 

 

She had tried to walk down the passages, sure she was going the right way to get back to their living room but had ended up turning around each time as confusion seeped into her head, thick like honey, telling her she was going the wrong way and that she had to turn around.

 

She was silently telling herself off for her plan as she made her way through the library, towards the door that led to the hallway. She had hidden in the secret passageway in their quarters, easily fooling Simon. For somebody who had invented the game, Simon really wasn’t a good seeker.

 

But she had gotten lost in the passage when she had decided to explore, not quite sure why, she knew every single one of them already, having spent weeks exploring them. She was only supposed to be hiding and had planned on jumping out on Simon to scare him. For some reason she couldn’t explain though, something had told her it was a good idea to walk down the passageway instead.

 

She happily left the confusing passageway behind her to return to her quarters and give herself up when she stopped short. Her eyes widened when she saw Simon lying in a heap on the floor, behind one of the rows of shelves that were filled with books. 

 

She dashed down the row, her stomach lurching when she saw the dark blood around Simon’s head in a little puddle on the floor and more blood on the floor further away, big wide splotches of it in a path that led towards the doors.

 

Cat placed her hands on Simon’s head, intending to send her awareness into his body to begin healing him when a sound that she feared above everything else reached her. The sound of a tapping cane. 

 

She poked her head around the end of the row and stared in horror at the doors as the sound came closer, frozen with indecision. Simon needed her help but she was terrified. Asmodeus scared her more than she was willing to let on to Magnus.

 

Tears started to stream down her face as her gaze darted from Simon to the door and back again, a small squeak of terror escaping as fear tugged at her gut. She started yanking on Simon’s arm, desperately trying to wake him up but he wouldn't move, wouldn’t open his eyes.

 

She jumped when the tapping cane stopped outside the door, looking around frantically for somewhere to hide. She wished Magnus was there to protect her and tell her it was okay to leave Simon. She didn’t want to, she wanted to help him but she broke when her fear overwhelmed her.

 

“I’m sorry, Simon, I’ll come back for you,” Cat whispered before she bolted for the secret passageway, shame curling through her for leaving Simon behind. She just made it inside before the main doors opened behind her. She shoved her hand into her mouth as she pulled the door behind her, not daring to close it fully in case Asmodeus heard it.

 

She tried to peak through the crack but it wasn’t wide enough to see anything. So she listened over the pounding of her heart, doing her best to stifle her sobs. 

 

**

 

Asmodeus strode into his library, looking around impatiently as he did. He did his best to reign in the anger that had erupted in him the previous day when Camille had announced that she was returning to her realm, reminding himself that she had decided to return today and hash out a new agreement. Her messenger had been sent back with his reply.

 

Why she wanted to meet him in the library, at practically the break of day, he couldn’t fathom. He looked down at his pocket watch, scowling at the time, 09.05. It was practically dawn! And she was five minute’s late already. He schooled his features when a sound behind him announced Camille’s arrival.

 

“Camille, I’m so glad you decided to return and negotiate,” Asmodeus said, striding forward to offer Camille his arm. He repressed the shudder that ran through him when she slipped her hand into the crook of his arm, reminding himself that her scent belied the danger she presented. As delectable as it smelled, she was still a snake in women's clothing.

 

“Of course, I must admit, I let my temper get the best of me yesterday but I wouldn’t want to let that get in the way of our little partnership, now would I?” Camille asked sweetly as she was led over to an armchair and seated in it. 

 

“Tea? Water? Wine?” Asmodeus asked as he sat in the armchair opposite Camille, resting his cane between his legs and his hands on the hilt of it, more than happy to use the hidden sword inside it if she decided she wanted more than he was willing to give.

 

“I would rather get down to business, time is pressing. I have a few more meetings scheduled this morning,” Camille said, watching her words sink into Asmodeus. She didn’t miss the narrowing of his eyes or the straightening of his spine.

 

“More meetings? With whom?” Asmodeus asked, thrown by this new information and what it might mean for him and their deal.

 

“Leaders of the other realms, of course,” Camille said, doing her best not to smirk. “I have finally decided on what I want but I know it will come at a price so I have decided to up my offer and I must say, there are a lot of interested parties. I should have done this centuries ago” Camille said with a little giggle.

 

“And what is it you are offering, my dear?” Asmodeus said, hanging onto Camille’s every word, paying particular attention to the words “up my offer”. 

 

So far, Asmodeus had managed to gain the concession of 30% of Camille’s resources in exchange for Magnus, access to Edomite, the metal found in his realm that was their main export, and a promise for 25% of his resources, should it ever come to war between the realms. Having the largest realm, Camille had a lot of resources. If she was offering more, he certainly wanted to know.

 

“I’m offering 50% of my realm,” Camille said, snapping her fingers and producing a goblet of wine, despite her earlier refusal. Sipping it as she watched her offer sink in.

 

“50% of your resources? That is quite an increase…”

 

“You mistake me, Asmodeus. I said 50% of my realm, not just my resources. A half stake in my realm automatically gains you access to 100% of my resources,” Camille interjected, leaning back in her seat and crossing one leg over the other as she watched the greed shine in Asmodeus’ eyes.

 

Asmodeus was already calculating how to get his hands on the other 50%. Surely a little something or other in Camille’s wine during a visit to his new realm wouldn’t be seen as suspicious. In fact, he wouldn’t even have to do it himself, he was sure Camille had pissed one of her subjects off enough that he could bribe the poor fool.

 

“And what is it you ask for in return?” Asmodeus asked, hedging his bets. It had to be something big if she was offering so much up. His eyes narrowed a sliver when a thought occurred to him. Ugh, don’t say I have to mate her myself, he thought, even as he conceded that it would make it easier to kill her off and take her entire realm for himself.

 

“I want your help with a small problem. Well, technically, I want your subjects to help with the problem. Say yes and we will seal the deal here,” Camille said with a small flourish of her hand, giving Asmodeus a few more minutes to marinate.

 

“And your problem would be?” Asmodeus asked, his eyebrow cocked up at the blasé way she had said it. He wasn’t buying for a minute that her problem was little. It wouldn’t require his subjects if it was that little.

 

“I want your citizens to accompany mine in waging war on the first heavenly realm,” Camille said with a small smile, almost laughing at the way Asmodeus’ eyes widened.

 

“Why in the name of the nine realms would you want to wage war on The Host?” Asmodeus asked, staring at Camille. They all hated the angels but aside from the odd invasion, the demonic realms hadn’t waged a proper war on them in aeons.

 

“Because one of them has had the audacity to take something of mine and I want it back. My offer is simple, Asmodeus. Join me in my quest to gain back that which was taken from me and half of what’s mine is yours,” Camille said, sending her empty goblet away with a flick of her wrist as she sat up straight.

 

“And if I refuse?” Asmodeus asked, still hedging his bets as he thought it through. While he didn’t find it prudent to rile The Host, he had to admit, things had been getting stagnant of late. 

 

The lower demons, the more bloodthirsty ones, had been salivating for a good war for quite some time now, part of the reason Asmodeus needed more resources in the first place. And what better place to start than with The Host? Their hate for the angels was as certain as their need for blood. He looked up when Camille straightened once more.

 

“If you refuse, I will use the army that I already have camped out on your doorstep to take your realm from you and force your subjects to fly to the heavens any way, as my first royal decree,” Camille said with a feral grin.

 

“Your army?” Asmodeus asked, glaring at Camille as he jumped up from his seat, to stare down at her. “You dare bring your armies into my realm after the hospitality I have shown you? After I practically offered my son to you on a plate?” he thundered.

 

Camille was nobody’s fool. She stood up and waved her hand in the direction of the wall, turning the entire wall into one huge window, smirking when Asmodeus realised she meant business as they both gazed out at the army she had amassed on the barren wastelands that surrounded his city in all directions.

 

Asmodeus almost whipped his sword out when he turned on Camille, fire singing through his veins that went beyond anger. Pure fury burned in his eyes as he realised that she must have moved them in during the night, while he was sleeping.

 

“I wouldn’t make any rash movements that you might regret, Asmodeus. They already have their orders. If I leave this palace in anything less than the perfect state I arrived in, they will raise Edom to the ground. They will kill every man, woman and child that resides in this realm. There won’t be a bone left for the crows to pick at and nothing will flourish in this realm for the next thousand years.

 

“You have three choices, you can either call me your partner and accompany me to the heavens of your own free will or you can call me your royal highness and rot in the bowels of this place, only brought out for my amusement,” Camille said, crossing her arms as she stared Asmodeus down.

 

“And the third option?” Asmodeus snarled through his teeth, as he glared at the double-crossing snake that eyed him like the prey he was. He silently banished the words that his son had uttered at him so many weeks ago as they floated to the forefront of his mind. “Remember, Camille doesn't stab you in the back, she drives the blade into your chest as she stares into your eyes.”

 

“I kill you and take your realm and subjects anyway,” Camille said with a shrug, looking out over her army. “The choice is yours, Asmodeus. Only one option ends well for you though so I would choose wisely if I were you,” she said.

 

“What could possibly be so important to you that you would go to war with two realms?” Asmodeus asked incredulously, staring at Camille.

 

“What does that matter to you? It is none of your concern. Now, choose,” Camille said impatiently, done with Asmodeus’ deflections.

 

Asmodeus thought quickly, weighing the options up in his head. He might have been angry but he wasn’t stupid. One glance out of the window that Camille still hadn’t returned to normal told him it was useless to try and fight and he would let Edom perish before he was kept as a prisoner for Camille’s amusement.

 

“I would be a fool to refuse your offer, my dear,” Asmodeus said softly, already cementing his plans to get rid of her after this business with the heavens was over. “I require a week to garrison my army then we shall set forth…”

 

“You have one hour to gather your Horde,” Camille interjected with a wave of her hand. She showed him the contract that she had conjured with the movement, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed. “Come now, you didn’t think that would actually work, did you?” she asked, laughing when Asmodeus glared at her.

 

“Do not attempt to out think me, my dear, it will not work out in your favour,” Camille said, mocking his endearment. She shoved the contract under his nose, tapping her foot as she waited for him to read through it. As if I am stupid enough to give him time to round up his ragtag group of demon spawn.

 

Asmodeus read through the contract at his own pace, refusing to be rushed. It was exactly as she had promised, 50% of her realm if he promised her his help. He read through it three times, waiting for the loophole she must have put into it, to jump out at him but he couldn’t find one. It seemed to legitimately lay out her offer in black and white.

 

“Well, are you going to sign it or are you going to do something that you won’t be able to take back?” Camille asked, losing her patience when Asmodeus started reading through her contract a fourth time. 

 

“Of course I am going to sign,” Asmodeus said, his tone dripping with irritation. He snapped his fingers and produced a quill. Stabbing it into his finger, Asmodeus signed the contract in his black blood before he stabbed the sharp tip into Camille’s finger and handed it over to her.

 

Cammile reigned in her snarl when Asmodeus was too heavy handed with the quill. She had no doubt he had enjoyed stabbing her a little too much. She snatched the quill and contract and used her own black blood to sign her name, binding each of them to her contract.

 

“You have made the right choice, partner,” Camille said, duplicating the contract with a wave of her hand and handing Asmodeus the second copy. She watched as he inspected it before he rolled it up and sent it away with a wave of his hand. “You have one hour, I suggest you get moving,” she said, gesturing towards the door.

 

“Let us be done then,” Asmodeus said, gesturing for Camille to proceed him out of the library as he turned on his heel.

 

“I will follow you, I have to put this right,” Camille said with a smile, staring pointedly at Asmodeus’ pocket watch before she turned to the window she had created, waiting for the door to close before she began.

 

**

 

Cat sat stock still in her hiding place when she heard the door close in the library, terror snaking through her and freezing her to the spot. She had heard almost every word of Camille and Asmodeus’ conversation. She un-clamped her teeth from her hand, staring down at the crescent marks that mared her fingers where she had bitten them to stop from crying out loud.

 

She finally found the courage to stand, knowing that she needed to wake Simon so he could warn Magnus. Magnus will fix it. Magnus will fix it. Magnus will fix it. She chanted in her head, trying not to cry again. The first heavenly realm was where Alec, Izzy and Jace lived. All of them were in danger and she was the only one who could warn them.

 

She reached out to push the door open, only to snatch her hand back when the door was ripped out of her grasp and a hand reached into the passage and yanked her out of it. She stared up into Camille’s eyes, just about managing to hold onto her bladder when the demon grinned down at her.

 

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you that it is rude to listen into other people’s conversations, you sneaky little rat?” Camille growled as she yanked Cat up by the scruff of her tunic. “Or did you kill your family before they could teach you any manners?” she asked, laughing at the frightened squeak Cat let out.

 

“They would be alive if it wasn’t for you, wouldn’t they? That crock of shit that Magnus spouted about finding you wandering the mortal realm when they died was just that, wasn’t it? I know exactly what happens to the mortal parents of demon children,” Camille said, her face a scant inch from Cat’s.

 

“It wasn’t my fault, Magnus said it wasn’t my fault,” Cat squeaked, shaking her head as the tears rolled down her face, Camille's words bringing her worst fears to life.

 

“Of course he would say that, he killed his mother too,” Camille said as she dragged Cat across the library and pulled her towards Simon’s prone body. “Magnus killed his mother and you killed yours and now, Simon will die because you were a bad girl. You should have stayed in your room instead of following the voices through the passages and listening in to conversations that have nothing to do with you,” she said.

 

“I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose,” Cat cried when Camille shook her. She stared down at Simon, terrified when she saw the huge pool of blood around his head. Too much blood. It’s been too long. I should have helped him. She cried harder when those thoughts ran through her head in a loop. 

 

Magic sparked on Cat’s hands, her healing magic, as she tried to reach out to Simon but Camille’s grip on her tunic was too tight.

 

“Of course you meant to, because you’re a sneaky rat, and that’s what sneaky rats do,” Camille said when she saw the magic on Cat’s hands. She waved her free hand as she dragged Cat away from Simon, ignoring the weak hands that grabbed at her fingers and the shrieking cries coming from the child as she conjured up a little surprise. 

 

“Do you know what we do with rats? We cage them. We lock them away so that they can’t cause any more damage,” Camille said. She dragged Cat three feet from Simon’s body, grinning as she hoisted Cat up and shoved her down into the magical trap she had created. 

 

“It will already be too late before anyone finds you. The heavens will be decimated along with every angel that stands in my way,” Camille muttered as she cast her spells, sealing Cat into the trap.

 

Cat banged on an invisible wall when Camille waved her hands and locked her up, her hands beating against thin air that felt solid beneath her hands. She screamed as she felt out the perimeters of the trap. It surrounded her, like an invisible box, barely leaving her enough room to stand up.

 

“Bars would have been more suitable but rats will always find a way out of their cages if you don’t lock them up tight,” Camille said, laughing when Cat’s mouth opened in a silent scream. “I wouldn’t bother screaming if I were you, nobody can hear you,” she said, kneeling down and pressing her face up to the trap.

 

“And I wouldn’t bother with that, either. It will suck your magic right out of you. You have Magnus to thank for that,” Camille laughed when Cat tried to blast her way out of the box, Magnus’ magic loop had been too easy to figure out. “You might as well relax and watch the show. I’m pretty sure he only has about thirty minutes at most before he bleeds out. Enjoy yourself, little one.” 

 

Cat screamed louder as she pounded on the walls and lid of her prison, watching helplessly as Camille spun on the spot and crossed the room without a backwards glance. She banged and screamed harder when Camille left, unable to stop staring at the pool of blood that surrounded Simon’s head. It was getting larger by the minute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all know Camille is a bitch, don't worry, she'll get exactly what she deserves. I want to hear theory's on what that might be 😁😁🔨⛏️🗡️⚔️🔫🏹⚰️


	23. when Guilt Cuts Deep

“Do we have to return to reality?” Magnus asked, snuggling further back into Alec’s chest as he stared into the flames in the fireplace. He tilted his head when he felt Alec’s lips on the back of his neck, his eyes fluttering closed when Alec trailed kisses down the side of his neck.

 

“We will fuse to this couch if we stay here any longer,” Alec said, his arms tightening around his mates stomach for a moment. He loosened his hold slightly so that Magnus could roll onto his back, missing the warmth of Magnus’ back against his chest already. He levered himself up on one elbow to look down into Magnus' eyes.

 

“And I have patrol,” Alec said softly, his fingertips trailing up the middle of Magnus’ chest and throat. He hated that he had to leave. They had spent the rest of the previous day, the entire night and the morning on the couch, only moving to relieve themselves. It still wasn’t enough. He didn’t want to say goodbye.

 

“I know. It’s more time than we were expecting,” Magnus said with a tight smile. “It’s halfway through the afternoon, I would have expected Simon to turn up by now, I’m surprised he managed to stay away from Izzy this long,” he said, his brow furrowing.

 

“She doesn't finish patrol until tonight anyway,” Alec shrugged, allowing himself a few more moments to be with Magnus before he had to go. He leaned down and pressed his lips to Magnus’, grinning against his lips when Magnus’ hand wrapped around the back of his neck to anchor him in place. He couldn’t say he was complaining.

 

Magnus held Alec there a little longer, enjoying the plump lips pressed to his own before he let go with a sigh. “Cat is going to be upset that she missed you,” he said.

 

“I’ll admit, I did miss her jumping all over us this morning,” Alec chuckled, having gotten used to their morning wake up call, even if it did usually result in a knee to the gut or an elbow in his ribs.

 

“Bring her here tonight,” Alec said, already planning a day for the three of them the next day. “We can have a family day tomorrow, just the three of us. I don’t finish patrol until the early hours but I’ll be here when she wakes up. We can take her flying if you want? I think she’s ready for a longer journey. Maybe we can find somewhere nice to have our dinner. She’s only really spent time in this valley. Maybe it’s time to broaden her horizons?”

 

“She will love that, any opportunity to fly is okay with her,” Magnus chuckled. She was constantly nagging him to go flying, making up for the years when she had to hide her wings.

 

Alec pressed one more kiss to Magnus’ lips before he reluctantly got up and climbed over Magnus to get dressed.

 

Magnus grinned when Alec climbed over him, folding his hands behind his head to watch Alec’s firm, peachy ass as he moved around to look for his clothes. 

 

“I could watch that ass all day,” Magnus said, grinning when Alec looked over his shoulder. He burst into a fit of laughter when Alec jiggled his ass and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “Shake it!” he yelled, cupping hands to his mouth.

 

“You’re ridiculous,” Alec chuckled, pulling Magnus up when his mate held his hand out. He spun Magnus on the spot and ran his hands over Magnus’ tight golden ass cheeks. “Why don’t you shake it?” he asked, his eyes glued to Magnus’ ass when he did just that.

 

“Enjoying the show?” Magnus chuckled over his shoulder. For all of Alec’s talk of being ridiculous, his Alpha sure did like looking. He reached back and ran his fingers through Alec’s hair when Alec grabbed his hips and bent down to kiss each ass cheek.

 

“More than you know. I’ll keep that image in my head for the rest of the day. It will definitely make my day more interesting. Patrol is boring!” Alec muttered as he straightened up. He kissed the cheeks on Magnus’ face before hunting his clothes down.

 

Magnus pulled his clothes on too and banked the fire before following Alec out of the cabin. He slid his hand into Alec’s, interlocking their fingers as they strolled over to Clary and Jace’s cabin.

 

“Do you think I’ll have to drag him out by his hair?” Alec asked with a grin when he knocked on the door, giving them a chance to get dressed. He didn’t really want to walk in and risk seeing his brother and Clary in a compromising position.

 

“Probably,” Magnus chuckled, more than happy to have a few extra minutes with Alec. he turned to the door when it did finally open, almost taking a step back from the wall of scent that escaped when it opened.

 

“By every angel of The Host, did you lose your mind when you got here yesterday?” Alec asked his brother, his eyes boggling at the strength of Clary’s scent as Jace stepped out onto the porch, fully dressed.

 

“I spent my heat in here, it is bound to smell a little stronger,” Clary said defensively, placing her hand on Jace’s shoulder when he started growling as she followed him onto the porch.

 

Alec rolled his eyes at Jace, choosing not to comment on the fact that Clary was wearing one of Jace’s patrol tunics. He had to grin at the image that rolled through his head when he imagined Raziel’s face if he ever found out a demon had slept in one of their patrol uniforms.

 

“Come on, we’re going to be late if we don’t leave now,” Alec said, thinking of his promise to Magnus the night before, he wanted to find Izzy. 

 

Alec hadn’t mentioned anything to Magnus yet but he planned on speaking to Jace and Izzy today, to get their thoughts on trying to do something about The Host’s position on mating demons. He couldn’t bear the thought of Magnus having to shed one more tear because of their situation. He was pretty sure they had all shed more tears than they deserved to.

 

Magnus pulled Alec down the porch steps when Jace turned to Clary and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. He understood completely, he didn’t want to let Alec go either. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Alec’s neck, pulling his mate into his own bone-crushing hug.

 

“I’ll try not to wake you when I get home tonight,” Alec said as he wrapped Magnus up tightly, burying his face in Magnus’ neck to fill his lungs up, wanting to take his Omega’s scent with him.

 

“You’d better wake me up,” Magnus growled, more than happy to be woken up by his Alpha at any time of the day and night. He pressed a lingering kiss to Alec’s lips, a promise of what awaited his Alpha that night.

 

“Hmmm I’ll definitely be waking you up,” Alec grinned against Magnus’ lips, his wandering hand grabbing a handful of Magnus’ ass. He laughed when Magnus batted his hand away, swooping in to catch Magnus’ lips once more before regretfully letting go. “I love you,” he said.

 

“I love you more,” Magnus said, folding his arms across his chest as Alec stepped back. He brushed his thumb over his bottom lip, feeling it tingle from their kisses

 

“Come on, loverboy,” Alec called to Jace, shaking his head when he saw Clary completely wrapped around Jace.

 

“I’ll see you tonight. I love you,” Jace said, letting Clary slide down his body. He steadied her when her feet hit the ground, his hand bunching up in his tunic, at the small of her back. He cupped his hand to her face as he pressed his lips to hers.

 

Clary sighed into the kiss, desperately wishing he didn’t have to leave. She held his face in place a little longer, her thumb lingering on his bottom lip when Jace pulled back slightly. She watched the motion when he pouted his full lips out and pressed them to the pad of her thumb. 

 

“Come back safe,” Clary murmured, the same thing she said every time they parted. She leant up and kissed him once more before tearing herself away, still a little jittery after her heat. 

 

“And apologise to Izzy for me,” she said, her cheeks flaming as she thought of the number of times she had ambushed Izzy in her desperation to get to Jace. It had been at its worst when she had heard him outside. She had almost snapped Izzy’s arm when Izzy had wrestled her back from the door. She dreaded the thought of what would have happened if she had had access to her magic.

 

“I will. On both counts but she is fine, she understands. And you healed her up,” Jace said, holding onto her hands a moment longer. He had arrived to find Clary healing a lot of cuts and bruises that Izzy had been left with but his sister had held her own. “I’m coming!” he yelled over his shoulder when Alec called him again.

 

“I love you,” Clary said, letting her fingers slip from Jace’s grip when he turned and jogged down the porch steps. She took Magnus’ hand when he passed Jace with a pat on the shoulder and climbed onto the porch.

 

“Love you too,” Jace said, turning and walking backwards to watch her a little longer. 

 

“Come on, the quicker we get patrol over, the quicker we can come back,” Alec said, grabbing Jace’s shoulder and spinning him on the spot. He gave Jace a little shove in the right direction and followed. “I have something I want to talk to you and Izzy about,” he said as he bent a knee.

 

“I had a complete meltdown last night,” Magnus said as he wrapped his arms around Clary’s shoulders when he saw the tremble of her bottom lip. He watched as their mates turned into silver and golden blurs. 

 

“It’s never going to get easier, is it?” Clary asked, wiping her tears and nose on Magnus’ tunic as she watched Jace and Alec until they disappeared. She looked up at Magnus when he squeezed her shoulders.

 

“There’s always hope, biscuit,” Magnus said softly. He let go of Clary, following her inside when she wiped at her face and wandered into the cabin. “How was your heat?” he called after her, taking a seat on her couch to wait while she ducked into her bedroom. He waved his hand, tidying a few mugs and plates away while he waited.

 

“Awful, I think I tried to kill Izzy at least three times. I’ve never experienced anything like it,” Clary called through her open doorway as she shrugged on a fresh set of leathers and fixed her hair. “I was so desperate I almost smashed a chair through the window at one point,” she said as she emerged from her room, raising an eyebrow at her clean cabin.

 

“Same, I almost throttled Simon when he brought me some food on my first day. He had to throw me across the room to get me off of him. And Camille managed to break through the wards but we sent her packing,” Magnus said as he climbed to his feet, shrugging at Clary’s raised eyebrow. He tidied when he was stressed. He followed Clary out of the cabin when she jerked her head in the direction of the door.

 

“Ugh, she’s such a fucking bitch, I’m glad you stood up to her, I want all the details. Can I spend the day with you and Cat? I don’t want to be alone and she makes everything seem a little easier,” Clary asked, thinking of how desperate she had been to start a family of her own during her heat. She silently wondered if Magnus and Alec would be willing to share Cat, as a surrogate child for the one she couldn’t have.

 

“Of course you can, maybe we can get her to put some makeup on Simon again, his face was hilarious when she got her hands on him. He was supposed to bring her to the cabin a couple of hours ago but he didn’t show,” Magnus said as he closed the door behind him and descended the steps. 

 

“Now that, I’ve got to see. Maybe she managed to get him to sit still this morning and wouldn’t let him take it off. He is probably waiting for you to get back so he can escape and wash it off” Clary chuckled as she created a portal for them. She spread her wings and followed Magnus through it. 

 

Clary thought about her heat, deciding to run her idea by Magnus as they made their way to Simon’s house. 

 

“I’ve been thinking, what if we were able to create a potion that could repress our heat’s? We can’t have children with our mates so they serve no other purpose than to make us miserable. I don’t want to go through that again,” Clary said when Magnus’ head whipped in her direction.

 

“But what if it changes one day? What if we are able to mate them and start families one day?” Magnus asked as they flew over Edom.

 

“It doesn’t have to be permanent. We could find a way to make it a dose potion. Take it when our heat’s are due, some for Izzy too. We could stop taking it if it ever does change,” Clary said, failing to see the day when that would happen. She would gladly bury the potion in the lowest realm of hell the day she could freely take Jace as her mate.

 

“It’s worth trying, I suppose,” Magnus said, wondering why he had never thought about inventing something like that before.  _ Probably because I’ve never had the heat from hell before.  _ He thought as he landed. “What ingredients do you think we will need?” he asked, letting himself into Simon’s house.

 

“I don’t know, maybe Elaine or Becky could suggest something,” Clary said, following Magnus inside. She looked around, raising an eyebrow at the empty living room. She had never once, in all of the centuries she had known Elaine, walked into this house to see empty dishes and clothing lying around. “Are they here?” she asked.

 

“Catarina? Simon?” Magnus called, wandering through the living room and down the hallway. He looked into Simon’s room, seeing it empty before poking his head cautiously into Elaine and then Becky's rooms, both empty too. 

 

“Maybe Simon stayed in the palace with her?” he suggested when he walked back into the living room. He eyed the mess with a confused frown, wondering if Elaine and Becky had been called away on some sort of medical emergency.

 

Magnus left the house and took off immediately, unease rolling through his stomach for some reason he couldn’t fathom. The empty, messy house and Simon and Cat missing didn’t sit right with him. He flew fast, barely paying any attention to whether Clary was following him or not.

 

Clary landed a beat after Magnus did, in the courtyard of the palace and hurried into the inside after him. She could feel Magnus’ agitation as a palpable thing, setting her own nerves on edge.

 

“Catarina, Simon? Are you here?” Magnus called out as he pushed the double doors to his quarters open, already sniffing the air. He didn’t like how faded Cat and Simon’s scents seemed to be but checked all four of the rooms that were allotted to him, including the washrooms and closets in his search.

 

“Why aren’t they here?” Magnus snarled as true fear started to work its way through him. He tried to push it down, to think about where they could be but it wasn’t working, his brain starting to shout at him to find his child.

 

“Magnus, does the palace seem empty to you? We didn’t see one person when we came through here,” Clary said, the fact that they hadn’t seen so much as one servant in the hallways dawning on her. She followed when Magnus took off.

 

“Where are they?” Magnus muttered as he started searching rooms, giving each one a cursory glance and sniff as he poked his head through the doors. His agitation grew and his magic along with it, the longer they searched. It was sparking up and down his arms, bright red to match his anger.

 

“I shouldn’t have left her, I should have taken her with me,” Magnus muttered desperately, guilt and shame welling up in him as he retreated from a closet and gripped the door to the dining room. “Catarina?” he shouted, running into the empty room

 

“It’s not your fault, you needed…” Clary started before Magnus snarl cut her off.

 

“It doesn’t matter what I needed, she needs me!” Magnus shouted, abandoning his search of the dining room. He flat out ran down the hallway towards his father's library as his options started to narrow, blasting the door out of his way in his panic.

 

Magnus dashed through the wrecked door, skidding to a halt at the sight that greeted him. A roar of pure rage ripped out of him as he flew across the room, stopping in front of Cat, seeing her silent screams as she banged against something invisible. He reached down for her before yanking his hand back when he the encountered wards that surrounded her.

 

“Simon!” Clary yelled when she spotted Simon on the floor near whatever trap Cat was stuck in, surrounded by a pool of blood. She threw herself down on the floor, kneeling right in the blood to lay her hands on Simon, yanking them back when she encountered wards. She barely registered that the blood that should have been soaking into her pants didn’t.

 

Magnus studied the wards before waving a hand and disabling them, snarling when he felt Camille’s magical signature.  _ What has she done to my daughter?  _ Snarled through his angry brain. 

 

“I’m going to fucking kill her,” Magnus snarled as he disabled the magical trap and the loop inside it, Cat’s hysterical screams reaching him when he broke through the last of the magic.

 

Cat couldn’t speak when Magnus scooped her up. She collapsed into him, screaming with terror as she buried her nose in his neck.

 

“I’m so sorry my sweet baby girl. It’s okay, I’ve got you,” Magnus whispered when he had Cat in his arms. He held her trembling body tightly to him, wrapping his arms and wings around her as he checked her over for injuries, fighting down the anger that coursed through him to inspect every visible inch of her.

 

Clary worked quickly to remove the wards and spells around Simon, jumping back when Simon shot up from the ground with a roar.

 

“Where is that fucking bitch?” Simon roared when he finally escaped whatever magical prison Camille had locked him in, searching the room for her. He had come around to find himself pinned to the ground and unable to move, only hearing Cat’s cries and the evil things Camille had been saying to her. He spun on the spot and crossed the distance to Cat in two strides, reaching into the feathers that surrounded her.

 

“I’m okay, Cat it’s okay, it wasn’t your fault,” Simon said, pressing himself to Cat when Magnus opened his wings up. “Look at me, I’m fine,” he whispered, trying to soothe her with a hand on her back.

 

“The blood!” Cat cried, sinking into Simon’s touch as she sobbed, inhaling his scent too. She had seen the blood, lots of it, seeping out of Simon’s head.

 

“It wasn’t real, sweetheart, it was an illusion, a trick to scare you. Look, see, it’s just a bump,” Simon said, letting Cat feel the tender lump on the back of his head. Sure, it hurt and he had a headache but there was no blood. He endured Cat’s ministrations when she lay her hands on him.

 

Cat stared into Simon’s black eyes as she healed the bump on his head, crying with relief that he didn’t have any internal bleeding. It helped to calm her, even when her chest hitched and she fought for breath. She felt a little bit better, her sobs stopping when Simon smiled for her, even if it did look a bit feral.

 

“What happened?” Magnus asked when Cat finished, once again pulling her into his neck as he started to rock back and forth on his heel. He felt another wave of guilt when her tiny, shaking hand landed on his cheek, unable to stop himself from pressing his lips to her forehead and stroking his hands through her hair. It was to calm himself more than her.

 

“Camille!” Simon said, her name dripping with venom as it rolled off of his tongue. “We were playing hide and go seek in your quarters. When I couldn’t find Cat in there, I came looking for her. Camille hit me around the head with something and knocked me out. The next thing I knew, I was coming around with a sore head and was unable to move.”

 

“She tricked Asmodeus!” Cat said, gripping Magnus’ face tightly to make him listen to her. “She made him go to a war in the heavens and said she would kill him if he didn’t and she made everyone else go too.”

 

“A war in the heavens…?” Magnus asked confusedly, his eyes darting from Cat up to Simon who shrugged. He found Clary’s gaze, she looked as confused as he did before he turned back to Cat. “what happened, little one? Start at the beginning,” he said gently, wondering if he should get Elaine or Becky to look her over as he felt her head.

 

“I was hiding in the passageway in our quarters when a voice said I should go down there. I didn’t mean to, I don’t know why I did it?” Cat said, hoping Magnus would believe her. “I got lost and I couldn’t find my way but then I ended up in here. I found Simon on the floor and I wanted to help him. I really did but…”

 

“But what, my darling?” Magnus asked gently, nodding towards the servant's passageways when he caught Clary’s eye. “It’s okay, you can tell me,” he said, wrapping his wings around them once more when Cat looked around.

 

“I really wanted to help him but I was… I was scared,” Cat whispered when Magnus’ wings blocked everyone else out. She buried her face in Magnus’ neck as she started to cry again, not wanting to see how disappointed he would be.

 

“It’s okay to be scared, little one,” Magnus said gently, coaxing Cat’s head out from his neck to look down into her eyes. “Fear is nothing to be ashamed of, my love. Even grown-ups get scared,” he said, nodding his encouragement to her.

 

“But I ran away and left him. I hid when I should have stayed and healed him,” Cat said, dropping her gaze from Magnus’. “When Asmodeus came, I hid from him. And then Camille came and I was too scared to move,” she muttered.

 

“You did the right thing, Catarina. I’m glad you hid, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Fear is what keeps us alive, it warns us when we are in danger,” Magnus said soothingly. He looked up when Clary returned.

 

“I found traces of a suggestion spell. She probably herded Cat in here on purpose,” Clary told Magnus, scowling at the deceitfulness that Camille displayed on a daily basis.

 

“See, it’s not your fault, she tricked you,” Simon said gently, chucking his finger under Cat’s chin. “And if you ever have to choose between staying with me or hiding to keep yourself safe, you have to hide, okay? No matter what. It would hurt me too much if you got hurt because you were trying to save me,” he said, grinning when she smiled a small smile.

 

“When Camille came, she told Asmodeus that she had an army waiting outside and that she would kill him and take Edom away from him if he didn’t fight in her war with her. She made him sign something to say that he could have half of her sauces if he agreed. And she said that all the people in Edom had to go too and Asmodeus said yes because they are partners. I don’t think he wanted to call her Highness so he went with her.

 

“And she said that an angel stole something from her and she wanted to fight a war with them so she could get it back,” Cat said, looking up at the adults, watching as their faces paled. “She made them all go to the first heavenly realm and I think they already left because she didn’t want to wait.

 

“She caught me listening to her conversation and she called me a sneaky rat and locked me in a trap before she left. But I was in the trap for ages,” she said, feeling guilty that she hadn’t been able to get out to help Simon and warn them.

 

“You did good, baby. You’re not a sneaky rat, you’ve been a big help,” Magnus said through numb lips as his feet almost went from under him, trying to reassure her. His stomach turned over again and again. He looked around when he felt a hand grab him.

 

“Maybe Jace and Alec came back to the mortal realm for something?” Clary asked, clutching at straws as she held onto Magnus, more to steady herself than him. The thought of her mate and his brother flying into a war zone made her feel physically sick.

 

“Wait, what about Izzy?” Simon asked, realising that he had been trapped for at least two hours. The Horde could have killed half of The Host in that time.

 

“She was on patrol,” Magnus said, turning to Simon with wide eyes, clutching Cat tighter when a squeak of terror escaped her. He felt like he was going to puke. Izzy would have been the first line of defence, along with whoever she would have been on patrol with.

 

Simon bolted as his vision turned red, not bothering to wait for the others. All he could do was pray that Izzy had finished her patrol early and returned to the mortal realm. He clung onto the wild hope because it was all he had. He barely registered that Magnus, Cat and Clary were following him as he spread his wings when his legs weren’t fast enough  

 

“Simon, wait!” Magnus yelled when Simon spread his wings, trying to fly down the hallway, he watched as Simon turned sideways when there wasn’t enough room. “Clary, what about Cat?” he asked as he hitched Cat higher on his hip, his mind going blank as he and Clary rounded the corner into the entrance hall.

 

“Take her to my mothers,” Simon yelled as he tried to yank the front doors open and fly through them at the same time, his panic and anger turning his brain to mush. He finally managed to calm himself enough to get the damned door open.

 

“Simon, she wasn’t there, or Becky. Your house was empty,” Magnus yelled, stopping Simon in his tracks. “It was empty,” he said when Simon turned on him.

 

It dawned on Simon then, that apart from Clary, Magnus and Cat, every person that he loved and cared about was in the heavenly realm. His gut clenched when he thought about his mother and sister being forced to fight, his mate being overrun by demons. What if one of them killed the other?

 

Clary dashed forward to wrap her arms around him when Simon collapsed, fighting her own panic down as she unknowingly thought the same thing as Simon, what if her parents and Jace were fighting each other right now? They were all warriors and she had no doubt that her father would have no problem with cutting down anything that stood in his way. Valentine would be chafing for revenge.

 

Magnus stared down at his friends, lost for words. How do you reassure your friends that every person that they care about will be okay when it was your father’s fault? How do you apologise to them?

 

“Don’t, don’t even think about it!” Clary said as she stared up at Magnus. She could see the horror and guilt stamped across his face. “This was all them. It is  _ not  _ your fault, Magnus,” she said, pulling herself together and dragging Simon up off of the ground. “We check the mortal realm first,” she said, turning on her heel and throwing the front doors open.

 

Magnus gripped Cat tighter as he and Simon followed Clary out of the door. He understood why she opened a portal right then and there, there was no point in hiding when there was nobody there to see it. He spread his wings and followed the others.

 

“What if they aren’t here?” Cat asked when they emerged from the portal at the usual place. The demons she was with and the angels they were desperate to find were the only family she had left, she loved all of them. She tried not to cry but it was too hard when she thought of losing them, of putting them in the ground with her mama.

 

“Don’t think about that,” Magnus said, he had no other answer for her, he was desperately clinging onto hope himself, even if he already knew it was useless. He held her close as he put a burst of speed on, turning into a bronze blur as he followed the copper and titanium coloured blurs that were his friends.

 

Simon was the first one to clear the mountains. He dropped from the sky, begging anyone who would listen that Izzy would be there. He barely left himself enough time to catch himself as he landed, harder than he had intended, at the foot of his porch. He flew up the steps and burst through the door, knowing with one sniff that Izzy wasn’t there.

 

Clary and Magnus wasted no time in checking their own cabins when they landed, both finding them empty, as they knew they would be.

 

Magnus searched the skies when he emerged from his cabin, trying not to think about the promises he and Alec had made to each other, not even an hour ago. He hadn’t realised tears were streaming down his face until Cat wiped them away. He looked down at her, staring into her brown eyes and reached up to wipe the tears from her face.

 

The decision that Magnus faced almost ripped him in two, leaving Cat with nobody to look after her or leave his mate to fend off The Horde. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted somebody else to tell him because he didn’t want to choose.

 

“I have to ask you to be a very brave girl, Catarina,” Magnus said through the lump in his throat. There was no way he could leave his mate to face The Horde and Cat would be safe here. “I need you to lock yourself in our cabin and wait for me to come back for you,” he whispered, fighting back more tears.

 

“You can’t. Don’t leave me, please,” Cat begged, wrapping her arms around Magnus’ neck to hold onto him. “Please don't leave me alone, please. I’ll be good. I can come with you, please,” she begged.

 

Magnus looked up at Clary and Simon, knowing that neither of them would stay behind. Their mates were in just as much danger as his was, their families too. He looked away when he saw the pity on their faces.

 

“It’s too dangerous, Cat. They will be fighting,” Clary said, stepping forward to rub at the girls back. “We can’t take you with us but we will come back for you,” she said.

 

“No, you won’t. You’ll leave me, just like my mama. You’ll all leave me and I won’t have anybody. Everyone that I love always leaves me,” Cat cried, holding onto Magnus when Clary tried to take her away. “Don’t leave me, please daddy,” she screamed, clinging on for dear life.

 

“I don’t want to leave you here, believe me. I wish I could take you with me,” Magnus whispered, his heart breaking in two, it was the first time she had ever called him that. She was right, he couldn’t guarantee that he would return to her. He closed his eyes, fighting back tears to be able to look at Cat. “ I can’t take you with me Cat, what kind of daddy would I be if I took my baby into a war zone?” he asked.

 

“If it’s too dangerous for me then it's too dangerous for you,” Cat said, refusing to let go. “It’s too dangerous for you all to go. You should stay here with me,” she said.

 

“I can’t leave him, Cat. I can’t. It’s my fault. It was Camille and Asmodeus that started this…” Magnus trailed off. Cat’s words from earlier floated through his head again,  _ “She said that an angel stole something from her and she wanted to fight a war with them so she could get it back,” _

 

There was only one thing Magnus could think of that she could have been talking about, him. Which meant that Camille knew about Alec. He didn’t know how she knew but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that this was because of him, which meant that Camille would go after Alec in a heartbeat. 

 

“I can’t leave him, to face her alone,” Magnus said.

 

“I will follow you,” Cat threatened, glaring at Simon when he tried to take her away from Magnus and giving Clary a glare for good measure. “I will follow you. I’ll fly there all by myself and fight them all, you can’t make me stay. He is my daddy too!” she yelled, determined not to be left behind.

 

“You don’t know what you’re asking of me Cat,” Magnus said, panicking at the thought of Cat falling from the sky because she didn’t know her own limits. “It is my job to protect you and you’re asking me to take you into battle. You’re only ten for demon’s sake,” he said.

 

“So! I don’t want to run away again. I can be brave. If you want me to stay, you will have to lock me up, like Camille did,” Cat said, folding her arms across her chest and looking Magnus pointedly in the eye.

 

“Magnus if you want to stay with Cat, we can help Alec when we get there,” Clary said, knowing that Jace and Alec would be together, hopefully with Izzy.

 

“I can’t. I can’t just leave him to face her. Don’t you get it? This is  _ my  _ fault. If I had been done with her that first time this wouldn’t be happening. I need to show her, that I am not hers, that she doesn’t get to control me anymore. That she doesn’t get to go after my Alpha because of her delusions,” Magnus yelled.

 

“Then we will have to bring her with us,” Simon said, seeing no other option. He didn’t want to put her in danger any more than Magnus did but he couldn’t lock her up like Camille had and leave her to wonder if anyone would ever come back for her. She would be locked away if none of them made it, left to die on her own.

 

Magnus looked from Simon to Clary, hopelessness flooding him. He couldn’t stay and he couldn’t ask them to either, they had even more than him to lose. He looked down into Cat’s eyes, asking himself if he could really take her with him or if he could abandon his mate to stay. His stomach lurched as he made his decision.

 

“You don’t leave my sight. You don’t try to fly off on your own or fight anyone. If someone tries to come for me or Alec, you hide until one of us comes for you. You do everything one of us tells you to. If one of us gets hurt, you don’t try anything stupid, do I make myself clear?” Magnus said to Cat, sealing his decision with a twist of his gut.

 

“I’ll be good, I promise,” Cat said, nodding her agreement. 

 

Magnus set Cat down on her feet and placed his hands on her head, muttering under his breath as he placed every protection he could think of on her, knowing it wasn’t nearly enough. He swapped her clothing for tiny leather armour, as well as his own with a few snaps of his fingers as Clary and Simon did the same. 

 

“You both need to help me protect her, she and Alec are my life,” Magnus said to Clary and Simon, adjusting the weapons belt he had conjured to be able to reach either of his swords if he needed them. “If anything happens to me, look after her, please,” he asked when they both nodded. 

 

“If you find yourself separated from us, you lash out with your magic, do you understand?” Magnus asked as he knelt down next to Cat. “If anyone, angel or demon, tries to hurt you while you are on your own, you don't hold back, give it everything you’ve got then you run. Or fly as fast as you can Use your nose, you find daddy’s house and you hide until we come for you,” he said.

 

“Find daddy’s house and hide,” Cat repeated, nodding her head seriously.

 

“Good girl. If you find Jace or Izzy’s house first, you can hide there. Do you remember what Jace and Izzy smell like?” Magnus asked, snapping his fingers when Cat nodded.

 

“Do not touch this unless your magic fails and you need it,” Magnus said when he showed  Cat the dagger he had produced before placing it in the small weapons belt at her hip, his heart thudding at having to give his ten-year-old daughter a weapon. “You point it and you stab, then you run, got it?” he asked, hating himself but wanting to prepare her.

 

Clary and Simon reached out and placed their hands on Magnus’ shoulders when they each saw the stress on his face as he scooped Cat up and held her close. They all exchanged a smile that none of them felt and bent a knee simultaneously, to set off for the heavens.

 

Magnus rose just as quickly as Simon and Clary did, despite carrying Cat, rising through the air with hard beats of his wings, praying to whoever would listen that his mate had hung on for him.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, I want to hide


	24. A Battle of Wills

It was worse than Magnus had imagined. He clutched Cat tightly to him as he flew over the invasion, tucking her head into his neck so she wouldn’t see the fighting. He tried not to let his gaze linger as angel slaughtered demon, demon decimated angel. He had lived through numerous battles himself over his lifetime but he didn’t want Cat seeing it if he could help it.

 

“Don’t engage if you don’t have to,” Magnus said when it looked like Simon was about to join the fray. He let his magic build in the palms of his hands, just in case he needed it. “Let’s just find our mates,” he said, beating his wings hard.

 

“Where do we even start?” Clary shouted over the deafening roar that surrounded them, most of the fighting in the air but plenty of it was still on the ground too. She gripped her long and short swords tightly as she continuously scanned the air.

 

“I can’t speak for Jace or Alec but if I know Izzy, she will be where the fighting is the thickest,” Simon said, gripping his broadsword with both hands and letting his green magic lick up and down it. They were still close to what he had to assume was the edges of the realm, he had no doubt it would only get worse, the further into the realm they got.

 

“Simon, watch out,” Clary yelled when she spotted a group of five angels, all dressed in the same patrol gear that Jace wore, approaching them. She sheathed her short sword and threw a fireball in their direction. Not a strong one, just big enough to deter them.

 

Simon flew in front of Magnus when the scattered angels reformed and came at them. The second he realised that none of them was his mate, he let his magic loose, his sword crashing down and right through the first blade that came at him. He followed up with a kick to the angel’s stomach as Clary came up on his left.

 

Magnus helped with the occasional fireball but he felt useless as Clary and Simon defended him and Cat. He scanned the horizon, keeping his eyes open for any of their mates.

 

“Don’t look, Catarina, just keep your head down,” Magnus muttered as he blasted one of the angels out of the air. His head snapped around when a larger group of demons approached them and barrelled into the fight. He pulled back when the two groups started tearing each other apart, afraid for Cat, there were fireballs and swords everywhere.

 

Magnus spun in the air, trying to find a flash of red hair or titanium wings in the melee but his friends weren’t anywhere to be found. He was already cursing himself for bringing Cat with him and now he had been separated from his friends. 

 

If it was just himself he had to worry about, Magnus would wade right in for them but he backed away when he felt the tremble of Cat’s body in his arms. After searching for a few minutes more he retreated. 

 

A larger group of angels were approaching fast and Magnus didn’t want to get caught up in a pointless fight. He stayed long enough to determine that none of the angels was his mate or friends before backing away.

 

“Catarina, I’m going to ask you to do something for me,” Magnus said as he landed behind a house and retracted his wings. “I want you to retract your wings and glamour your skin, okay? We are going to try and blend in,” he said, hating having to ask her. Anyone who looked at her would know what she was immediately. His own eyes weren’t exactly conspicuous but an angel would have to get close to get a good look at them.

 

“Will it make us safer, like when I lived with mama?” Cat asked as she stared up at Magnus when he put her down.

 

“Just like that,” Magnus said, nodding encouragingly. He sighed a small breath of relief when her wings disappeared and her skin darkened. He took her hand in his and started walking down the quiet pathway, trying not to draw attention to the fact that magic was swirling over his free hand.

 

**

 

Magnus wasn’t sure how long he and Cat had been walking when they passed through another grove of trees. He kept his eyes peeled and his magic ready while they walked, having already had to defend them from three separate groups, one group of angels and two packs of demons. Simply unfurling his wings had been enough to drive the demons away but he hadn’t been so lucky with the angels. Thankfully, he hadn’t had to kill anyone, yet.

 

He wondered if that was about to change when a scraping noise ahead of them caught his attention. He tugged on Cat’s hand and jerked with his head at the branches above them. Watching as Cat bent her knees silently and jumped. 

 

Magnus let his magic coalesce on his hands when Cat was safely ensconced in the branches, this wasn’t the first time. He was thanking Alec’s angels that there seemed to be a lot of groves in this realm. He scanned the gaps in the trees, raising his hands when two figures emerged to his left.

 

“Elaine? Becky?” Magnus asked, dropping his hands when he saw that the figures were Simon’s mother and sister.

 

“Magnus?” Becky said, dashing forward when she saw it was him and not another group of angels. She shot a weak fireball into the air when something dark dropped out of the trees, right above Magnus’ head.

 

“Stop,” Magnus yelled, deflecting Becky’s fireball at the last second before he caught Cat in his arms. “What did I say? You wait until I tell you it’s safe,” he said as he clutched Cat to him, his heart beating in his throat.

 

“I wanted to see them,” Cat huffed, sinking into the bear hug Elaine and Becky wrapped them in when they dashed forward.

 

“Oh Magnus, you brought Cat with you?” Elaine asked, hugging them both tightly, more than happy to see Magnus and terrified for Cat. “Where is Simon?” she asked 

 

“I’m so sorry, Elaine, we got separated from him and Clary. He is a skilled fighter though and his magic is strong. They will look out for each other,” Magnus said, handing Cat over to Elaine. “I had no choice but to bring her, she was too willful to be left behind. What are you doing out here?” he asked.

 

“We’re hiding,” Becky said as fear for her brother curled through her stomach, the match of the fear she could see on her mother’s face. She squeezed her mother tighter before turning to Magnus. “We aren't fighters, Magnus, we are healers,” she said.

 

“I know. Come on, I don’t want to be caught standing still when another group of angels decide to take us out,” Magnus said, letting Elaine carry Cat. He would need to have both hands free to protect them all; if Becky’s fireball was anything to go by.

 

Magnus kept a shield raised as they walked, constantly having to hush Cat when she felt the need to comment on something she found pretty. He had to agree, the realm had probably been beautiful before The Horde had arrived, but they didn’t need to announce their presence to the entire realm.

 

His stomach lurched when he realised that the trees were coming to an end. He warned the others before looking around at the small pathway that led to the next grove, searching it out before he would let any of them out of the safety of the trees. 

 

“Magnus, do you hear that?” Elaine asked quietly. They had almost made it to the next grove when she heard a small groan. Everyone tensed at her words, all of them searching for the source of the sound. She listened harder, wondering if she had imagined it as her eyes raked over their surroundings.

 

Magnus raised a finger to his lips when his eyes landed on a clump of bushes. He was sharply reminded of the story of how Alec had found Cat but pushed it from his mind as he crept closer. He raised his right hand as he reached out with his left, his magic ready when he parted the leaves.

 

“Isabelle?” Magnus asked, dropping his magic as his stomach lurched. He dropped to his knees when she looked up at him, her face twisted in a pained grimace. “What happened?” he asked, helping her shuffle out of the bushes. His heart almost stopped when he saw the blood coating the hand that she clutched to her stomach, a blade poking out from between her fingers.

 

“Magnus? What are you doing here?” Izzy choked out, trying her best not to scream when Magnus jolted the dagger that was lodged in her stomach. “There are demons everywhere, I didn’t even have a chance to fight them off, it was an ambush,” she said. 

 

Izzy bit into her lip to stop from crying out when Magnus managed to pull her free of the bushes she had crawled into. She had willed her Iratze to start healing her but it wasn’t doing much while she was unable to remove the dagger.

 

“Elaine, Becky, help her, please?” Magnus asked over his shoulder. He gripped Izzy’s hand, fighting his stomach when he felt how weak her grip was. He cradled her head in his lap when Becky stepped forward. “Please, Becky, help her, she is important,” he said, noting her wide-eyed stare. 

 

“Important?” Becky asked in disbelief, staring down at the angel Magnus had asked her to help. She looked up at her mother, seeing her own confusion mirrored on her face before her gaze landed on Cat, struggling in her mother's arms with tears running down her face. She looked Back at Magnus, seeing how desperate he looked as he attempted to heal the angel himself. 

 

“Thank you,” Magnus muttered when Becky fell to her knees and knocked his hands out of the way. “Isabelle, this is Becky and Elaine,” Magnus said, staring down into Izzy’s eyes. He nodded when they widened, stroking his hand through her sweaty hair, her whole face and chest were pouring with sweat. He was pretty sure it wasn’t a good sign.

 

Izzy stared at the woman that was healing her, seeing her mate in the small crease between her eyebrows and the black eyes that she seemed to share with him. Her gaze found his mother when the woman put Cat down and joined Becky. The pain in her gut started to lessen when Simon’s mother snapped her fingers and the dagger melted away.

 

Izzy had imagined meeting Simon’s family a hundred times since she had met him, she had never imagined this though.

 

“Is she going to be okay?” Cat asked, joining Magnus and taking Izzy’s other hand. “Are you going to be okay, aunt Izzy?” she whispered.

 

“I think so, little one,” Izzy said, surprised at the title Cat had used. She squeezed Cat’s hand when her stomach fluttered, nothing to do with her wound. She beckoned Cat closer with a jerk of her head, whispering when Cat pressed her ear to her lips. “Is Simon here?” Fear flooded her when Cat nodded.

 

“Where is he?” Izzy asked, trying to draw breath at the thought of her mate being there. She couldn’t drive the image of Simon, surrounded by angels, out of her mind.

 

“We lost him, and Clary,” Cat said as she watched Elaine and Becky work. She looked up when she heard a shaky exhalation of breath, to see the fear in Izzy’s eyes.

 

“Start talking,” Elaine said when she gave the angel’s body a final sweep with her magic and deemed her fit. Her gaze found Magnus, staring into his eyes when she saw the shifty expression on his face. “Who is she, Magnus?” she asked, watching how gentle he was when he helped the angel to her feet.

 

“My name is Izzy… Isabelle,” Izzy said, nervously wiping her hands on the cleanest part of her white tunic before she held her hand out. She let out the breath that she was holding when Elaine shook it, uncertainty etched on her face. She took another deep breath as she shook hands with Becky, deciding to just come out and say it. “I am Simon’s mate.”

 

Becky froze, gaping at the woman with wide eyes. The angel couldn’t be serious. Surely she had misheard? She couldn’t be, Simon didn’t have a mate. She let go when she realised she was standing there, holding the woman’s hand.

 

“Simon’s mate?” Elaine choked out, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to find some more words. She had known Simon was hiding something, that he had found somebody, even if he hadn’t come right out and said it. Of all the things she could have imagined, an angel was further down the list than a mortal and a Shax demon.

 

“She is my mate’s sister,” Magnus said, deciding to throw himself under the ox cart when he saw how nervous Izzy was. He had seen her fiery, teasing, loving and passionate. He had never seen her wring her hands like that though, it was endearing.

 

“Your mate’s sister?” Elaine parroted, gaping at Magnus too. It was too much! She ran her hands through her hair as she started pacing, her gaze sporadically darting to Magnus and… her son’s mate. “An angel? His mate is an angel? Of course, she is! Simon couldn’t possibly be mated to another demon, not when there are angels to be mated,” she muttered under her breath.

 

“Um, hello, I’m Becky, Simon’s sister,” Becky said, holding her hand out to Izzy once more when her mother started pacing. “Soooo, you’re an angel? That explains why he never said anything,” she said for lack of anything else, trying her best to take it all in stride, her mother was freaking out enough for the both of them.

 

“It’s not exactly something we could announce. Believe me, I wish it was,” Izzy said with a tight smile, deciding she liked Becky so far. As long as the demon didn’t decide to return the dagger to its former home in her body. “Simon has told me a lot about you and your mother. Is she going to be okay?” she asked, trying not to stare at the way Elaine was muttering at herself.

 

“Sure, she will be fine. Once the shock has worn off,” Becky said, in the most blase tone she could manage.

 

“Izzy is really nice, Elaine. She loves Simon a lot!” Cat said, taking Elaine's hand to stop her weird walking and hair pulling. She looked up when Elaine came to a standstill, beaming at Elaine. “And Simon loves her. They want to be mates like my daddy’s but they aren’t allowed. It makes them sad but they still love each other,” she shrugged. 

 

“Do they? Do you?” Elaine asked, looking up at the angel. Her mind pulled her in 100 conflicting directions when the woman nodded. She could certainly see the girls beauty and she wanted Simon to be happy. But she was an angel! They would be punished if… her eyes darted to the white and rose-gold wings that poked out from behind Izzy’s back.

 

“We are true mates, Elaine,” Izzy said, seeing the relieved expression on Elaine’s face when the woman’s eyes swept over her wings.

 

Elaine’s stomach dropped at Izzy’s words, realising that it wasn’t just some ridiculous, really,  _ really _ late, adolescent phase Simon was going through. Simon wasn’t going through the rebellious phase that he had never gone through as a child. She let out a deep sigh when she saw tears well up in Izzy’s eyes. Stepping forward, she took Izzy’s hand in her own.  

 

“Hello, Izzy, I am Elaine, Simon’s mother,” she said, taking a proper look at the angel.  _ She is beautiful,  _ she thought as she took in the long hair and pretty brown eyes, the undeniably beautiful wings. She didn’t miss the relief that broke out on Izzy’s face.

 

“It’s really, really nice to meet you,” Izzy said with a shaky sob laugh that she would deny if Magnus ever breathed a word to her brothers. She turned to Magnus. “What is going on? Why is The Horde here?” she asked.

 

“Camille,” Magnus said, nodding when Izzy’s eyes narrowed. He explained everything that had happened and what Cat had told them, seeing Izzy’s face darken further with every word. He smiled faintly when she scooped Cat up and pressed kisses to her cheeks before putting her down and yanking her whips out.

 

“Where is she? That little chat I wanted to have with her is way past due,” Izzy said, looking forward to introducing Camille to the business end of her whips. She was beyond fury, her tone belying the fire in her eyes and the glow of her runes. Maybe she could borrow the title of The Avenger from her brother?

 

Elaine couldn’t help but smile at Izzy’s fiery attitude, watching her golden rune’s glow and eyes blaze. She decided she liked Izzy then and there. Anyone who wanted to take Camille on was okay with her. It might take her a moment to get used to the woman but they could think about that later.

 

“Believe me, you’re going to have to get in line,” Magnus said, resting his hands on the hilts of his swords. “I need to find Alexander, I think she is going after him,” he said.

 

“I’ll help you find him. Do you have any idea where Simon is?” Izzy asked hopefully, desperately missing him and hoping with everything that she had that he wasn’t hurt. Her hopes plummeted when Magnus shook his head.

 

“I don’t know. I’m sorry to ask, I’ll understand if you say no, but can Cat, Becky and Elaine go to your house? I need somewhere safe for Cat to go and she can’t stay on her own. I would feel better if she could stay there, just until we find out if the others are safe,” Magnus asked, not wanting to put Izzy on the spot but having no choice.

 

“Of course they can,” Izzy said, taking Magnus’ hand in her own and giving it a tight squeeze. “Hey, you are too young for battle. My brother will kill me if anything happens to you,” she said when Cat tried to object. 

 

“Is that okay with you both? You can barricade the door, you will be safer there,” Izzy asked Elaine and Becky. She felt her own sense of relief when they agreed, thankful that she could help her mate’s family, he already had enough to worry about. “Okay, we will have to fly there though, it is a bit of a journey,” she said.

 

“Okay, everyone stay together and fly fast. Elaine, will you carry Cat? I can protect her better with my hands free and a group like ours will be a moving target from both sides,” Magnus asked, smiling his thanks when Elaine picked Cat up. 

 

Magnus unsheathed his blades and lit the dark metal up with his magic, taking off when everyone was ready. His stomach was slightly less tight as they started flying, at least Cat would be safe. Now he just needed to find his Alpha.

 

**

 

“We need reinforcements,” Alec yelled when his commander approached. He let loose another arrow, barely watching it sail through the wing of a demon before he had his next one nocked. He let loose, aiming for the demon that was flying straight at Raziel’s back. Thankfully, his own back was covered by Jace.

 

“Alexander, Jonathan Christopher, I sent a messenger to my mate when we first got word of the invasion, he should be here any minute,” Raziel called back, cutting a path through a swath of demons with his glowing broadsword to reach Alec and Jace. Michael should have been there an hour ago but he chose not to say that aloud, seeing the exhaustion on the pair’s faces.

 

“Will they never end?” Jace yelled as he swung both of his blades, decapitating three slavering demons with a roar. They were three lower realm demons, nothing too difficult, but they seemed to be multiplying. “Raziel, was Izzy still on patrol when the attack came?” he asked, wishing the demons would retreat for a minute.

 

“Isabelle was patrolling the groves,” Raziel said when he joined them, putting his back to the pair to lend a hand, The Horde seemed to be particularly concentrated around the fountains and Jace and Alec were taking on the brunt of it.

 

“Do we know how bad it is there?” Alec asked, trying not to think of his sister being injured, it didn’t look good though, the groves were close to the edges of the realm and would strategically have been the best place to invade from.

 

“I don’t know, none of my messengers have returned. I sent them out to all locations to gather intelligence,” Raziel said. He looked up when the skies lit up with a blaze of white wings and golden runes, relief sinking into him when he saw his mate, followed by Gabriel, Ithuriel, Uriel, Raphael and Selaphiel. His fellow archangels had arrived.

 

“Raziel, you’re okay,” Michael said, pulling his mate to him when he landed. He pressed his lips to Raziel’s forehead before looking around. “We haven’t seen war on this scale in the heavens in centuries. Do we know why Eidol and Edom have attacked?” he asked.

 

“Edom?” Alec asked, almost shrieking the word. He turned to Jace, seeing his own fear mirrored on his brother’s face.

 

“Yes, Alexander. Intelligence says the realms leaders have been spotted… Asmodeus,” Michael said when he saw the demon himself approached, looking like he was surrounded by half of The Horde. “Spread out, protect the fountains,” he ordered.

 

“Please tell me they aren’t here, we just left them a couple of hours ago,” Jace whispered to Alec, taking up a place next to his brother when their line spread out to face the demons, their backs to the fountains of life. He didn’t hesitate to raise his blades, scanning the large crowd of demons when they landed, fifty feet from them.

 

“They can’t be, the demons had already invaded by the time we returned to the realm,” Alec said, just as quietly, his eyes straining to catch sight of his mate as he prayed that Magnus had stayed in Edom. The clenching of his stomach told him that Magnus would do no such thing.

 

Alec stopped searching when his eyes landed on Asmodeus, standing at the forefront of the gathered Horde, the eerily silent Horde. He elbowed Jace, jerking his head in Magnus’ father’s direction. None of them had seen Asmodeus since he was cast out. 

 

Alec’s eyes flicked over the demons that surrounded Asmodeus, noting Valentine and Jocelyn’s presence with no surprise and a woman that he didn’t recognise. She seemed to recognise him though, she was staring right at him. He turned his gaze back on Asmodeus

 

Alec glared at the man who had almost destroyed his mate, drawing a bead on him and dearly wishing for an excuse to let loose. The familial resemblance with Magnus did nothing to make his aim waver, he kept the image of Magnus, sobbing in his arms at the forefront of his mind, it kept his arm steady.

 

“Asmodeus, what is the meaning of this madness? Has your banishment finally taken its toll?” Raziel called out, pointing at the crowd of demons at Asmodeus’ back with his sword. “You dare to bring them into this realm?” he roared.

 

“I felt a little reunion was in order, Raziel,” Asmodeus shouted across the distance, his eyes sweeping over the pitiful line before him, once his brothers and sisters, then the orchestrators of his banishment. “I should thank you all for my banishment, life has been so much more interesting since I fell,” he said, flexing his black wings.

 

Asmodeus’ eyes lingered on a few faces. The beautiful Gabriel, the insufferable Ithuriel, the self-righteous Alexander, but his eyes snapped back to the worst of them, Raziel, their pitiful “commander”. The angel couldn’t command a fart to dissipate in his opinion.

 

Asmodeus looked down to his right when Camille started laughing, a small smile creeping over his face. As ready as he was to kill her, the first chance he could, he would be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to decimating the line before him. Especially the archangels, the deciders of his fate.

 

Alec’s eyes snapped to the woman, standing at Asmodeus’ right hand, meeting her gaze. He looked her over, taking in her long brown hair and the feral grin on her face as she stared right back, realisation dawning on him. She matched Magnus’ description perfectly, right down to the insane look on her face.  _ This must be Camille, who else would Asmodeus have at his right hand? _

 

The second Alec switched his aim to Camille, she took off and darted towards him. He didn’t even hesitate, rising up into the air, he let his first arrow loose. This one was personal. He nocked arrow after arrow, aiming for her wings and snarling when she turned to grey smoke and shadows every single time he let loose.

 

Camille let out a shrill laugh at Alec’s frustrated snarls, using her best tricks to her advantage to get closer to him. She let his arrows get close before dissipating into a swirl of smoke, laughing harder when they passed harmlessly through the air she had occupied the moment before.

 

Asmodeus snarled at The Horde when they started forward to help Camille, wondering if it was Alexander who had pissed Camille off. He held back the demons back with one raised hand, keen to watch them go at each other. Alexander was a formidable warrior, maybe he would finish Camille off for him.

 

“Back off, Jace, I owe her,” Alec growled when his brother tried to come to his aid. He didn’t spare one bit of concentration to look at Jace, too busy watching Camille disappear and reappear to pay attention to anyone else. 

 

“It’s personal,” Jace said, holding Raziel back when his commander spread his pure white wings. Clary had told him all about Camille and he knew that Alec had to be the one to finish her, for Magnus’ sake. 

 

“He won’t tolerate anyone stepping in, this is his battle,” Jace said, shaking his head at Raziel and the others, seeing the restless rustle of wings that rippled down the line of angels. “Just focus on keeping The Horde off of him,” he said, looking out over the gathered demons. The demons were all too busy watching the aerial battle but he still kept his eyes peeled for any treachery.

 

Alec blocked everything else out, his world narrowing to one single focal point, the woman who had caused his mate so much pain, for so long. The only thing that mattered to him was finishing her, once and for all. He started aiming his arrows at the spaces he thought she was going to occupy when he saw a pattern emerge but she changed it up, again and again, only pushing his frustration to new heights.

 

“Enough, Camille!” Alec roared, dropping his bow and pulling his blades from the sheathes at his hips. He lashed out with an overhead strike when Camille reappeared right in front of him, smashing his sword down onto the Edomite blade that had appeared in Camille’s hands. 

 

“It’s Alec, isn’t it?” Camille asked sweetly as she yanked her sword from beneath his and brought it around in an arch, landing hers on top of Alec’s. She shot a fireball into his stomach and danced back, laughing when he managed to bring his second sword up, even as he doubled over.

 

“Oh yes, I know all about you,” Camille said when she saw the surprise on Alec’s face. “Did either of you think you were being subtle? He reeked of angel every time he came back to me,” she snarled.

 

“Came back to  _ you _ ? You really do believe he belongs to you, don’t you?” Alec spat, raising his sword once more, grateful that he had been wearing his patrol gear when he had reached the heavens, the reinforced leather breastplate protecting his stomach from the worst of it. He lashed out once more, snarling when Camille turned to smoke once more and his sword cut a path through her incorporeal form.

 

“He  _ is _ mine, you shouldn’t touch things that don’t belong to you,” Camille spat when she resumed her natural form once more. She aimed a blow at the exposed flesh of Alec’s arm, letting her magic lick up her blade. “I followed him, my first night in Edom. Tell me, what did you do to him to make him so defiant?” she asked.

 

“I treat him like a person, he doesn't  _ belong  _ to anyone,” Alec snarled, deflecting Camille’s blow and aiming his own sword at her weak left side. He didn’t bother celebrating when he caught her ribs as she danced back once more, too busy following up with a series of double-handed strikes that she was just quick enough to deflect.

 

“He doesn’t need me to reject you though, he is perfectly capable of putting you behind him without my help. You repulse him,” Alec said when he had Camille backing away. He dodged out of the way when she aimed another fireball at him with a scream. 

 

“Even the thought of you makes his skin crawl. You make him sick, why do you think he locked you out during his heat?” Alec asked, knowing he was getting to her. He pressed his advantage when her anger and her rib injury made her sloppy.

 

“Who do you think he will turn to when I kill you? He knows that I am the only one who could ever love him, he will see that when his little distraction is gone,” Camille said, laughing as she disappeared once more. 

 

“Or did you think you were more than that to him?” Camille asked when she reappeared behind Alec and gouged into the back of his thigh with her blade. “I watched you, playing happy families with that little rat, do you think either of you was anything more than a distraction to him? He has had others over the centuries but he always returns to me.”

 

Alec spun in the air with a scream, swinging both swords in an arch as he turned. He would have taken Camille’s head off if she hadn’t disappeared once more. He ignored the fire on the back of his thigh and the blood dripping down his leg as anger pulsed through him, anger for Camille’s treatment of Magnus and the way she spoke of him, as though he was an object for her to play with.

 

“He is stronger than you think,” Alec said, lunging forward when Camille appeared in front of him, he had already anticipated her move. He aimed low with his left blade, driving it straight through her leg. He left it there, raising his right sword with both hands when hers crashed down, aiming for his head, and deflected her weak blow. He circled her when she let out a pain filled scream, Camille doing the same to keep him in sight. 

 

“Strong? He was nothing more than a weak shell when I found him. The rejection of his parents made it too easy for me to become everything he ever needed,” Camille screamed through gritted teeth, gripping her leg as pain ripped up and down it. 

 

“He was so desperate for somebody to care for him, for even the tiniest spark of love and affection that he returned to me time and time again. This time will be no different,” Camille gasped out, trying to yank the blade free.

 

“Magnus and I are true mates, do you think the hold you  _ used  _ to have on him is anything compared to what we share? You wouldn’t know the meaning of the word love. He will  _ never  _ take you back,” Alec said, smashing the hilt of his sword into Camille’s left cheek when she froze in the air, staring at him. He followed when she backed away with a furious snarl “He doesn’t need you anymore, Camille, he has me and Catarina now,” he said as he followed her. 

 

“Don’t worry, she will be the next to go,” Camille snarled, almost blacking out from the pain in her leg and face. The angel’s sword had cut right through her thigh. She tried to disappear once more but couldn’t pull the magic off with the sword stuck in her leg, the fact that she couldn’t yank it out had a frustrated, pained scream ripping from her. 

 

“I will kill her and I’ll make him watch. I will spend the rest of our eternity making his existence a misery,” Camille screamed as she backed away from Alec, trying to give herself enough time to pull the blade free from her leg. “And you will be nothing more than a memory that he clings to as he endures it,” she screamed

 

Alec lunged forward once more, his vision turning red at the threat to his mate and child. He almost dropped his sword when he looked over Camille’s shoulder as he backed her up, his eyes widening when he saw Magnus flying straight at them, over the heads of The Horde that was watching them. 

 

Alec’s stomach contracted, turning somersaults at the thought of his mate being there. The feeling only got worse when he saw Cat in the arms of a demon that he didn’t recognise. He told himself to breathe when he saw that Cat seemed comfortable there, even if she was staring at him with wide, scared eyes. 

 

The fear turned to confusion when Alec realised that Izzy was with them. He shook his head at her when his sister locked eyes with him, almost crying with relief when Izzy stopped the demon holding Cat from coming any closer. His gaze snapped back to Camille, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips when she continued to back up, unaware of the sword that Magnus was aiming at her.

 

Magnus brought his sword down with everything he had.  He poured his magic into his blade, sending it out through the metal and straight into Camille’s body, pouring his anger and fear into the blow, right along with it when he sliced straight through her left wing. Nothing had ever scared him more in his life than seeing his Alpha face Camille as they had made for Izzy’s house.

 

Alec didn’t even hesitate when Magnus’ sword cut through Camille’s left wing. He brought his own sword up in an underhand arch and sliced up through her right wing, severing it as surely as Magnus had severed the left.

 

Camille let out a blood-curdling scream when her wings were sliced off, falling from the air as her body went into shock. She couldn’t even form a thought to wonder what had happened to her. She slammed into the ground, the force of it stealing the air from her lungs as she let out a silent scream, fighting for air that wouldn’t come. She lay shaking on the ground in a bleeding, crumpled heap, trying to send out some healing magic through her wings but it wasn’t enough.

 

“Magnus, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Alec asked when Magnus flew into his outstretched arms. He held Magnus close, trying to inspect every part of him at once. He let out the breath he was holding and wrapped Magnus up tightly when he realised his mate was unharmed. “I’m so proud of you, you did it, you faced her and you won,” he whispered in Magnus’ ear.

 

“ _ We  _ faced her,” Magnus said, struggling out of Alec’s arms to look him over. He started pouring his healing magic into Alec’s thigh when he saw the deep cut there, refusing to let go until it was healed. He met Alec’s gaze when it was done before descending.

 

Anger pulsed through Magnus when he saw Camille trying to drag her broken body away from them, toward’s The Horde. He marched over to her and gripped her hair tightly, dragging her head back to look her in the eye, not nearly done with her. She didn’t look like she was going to last much longer anyway.

 

“That was for my Alpha, for my daughter, and for myself,” Magnus snarled in Camille’s face, hatred rearing up when she started laughing maniacally. “Was it worth it? Your jealousy? You lost, Camille, it’s over for you,” he snarled.

 

“I've lost... nothing. My subjects... are loyal. I will recover, from this... and Edom will fall before the weight of... Eidol,” Camille grated out, refusing to give in to the pain that racked her failing body. 

 

“Are they? Look at them, they are only as loyal as their fear of you. They don’t look all that scared anymore,” Magnus said, turning her head so she could see how restless her “loyal followers” were. “Some of them already look like they are sizing your thrown up. Too bad you won’t be around to watch them take it from you,” he said.

 

“Yes... but I won’t be the only one... will I?” Camille rasped. At least she would get one final victory if this was her fate. “I did what I set out... to do. Do you really... think they will let you... be together? They will never accept it... why do you think I chose the... first realm, where all of the archangels are? They will... decide your fate, you should have just done as you... were told.”

 

“Do you think we care about what they will accept any more? I would take an eternity of punishments for him because he is worth it,” Magnus said, coming to the realisation that she had orchestrated the entire thing to ensure that they were punished.  _ There really is no end to her fucking spite. _

 

“I will take comfort in the fact that we will always find a way to be together while you will fade into obscurity. I pity you, Camille, you will never know the love that I have found in him, nobody will even mourn your death,” Magnus said, letting her head drop when he saw the blood that trickled from her mouth.

 

Magnus leant into Alec when his Alpha’s arms came around him. He watched the life bleed out of Camille, feeling nothing but relief that he had finally taken his life back from her.

 

“She’s gone, my love, she will never hurt you again,” Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear, running his hands through Magnus’ hair when Magnus buried his face in the crook of his neck. He looked up when he felt a presence at his back, to see Jace backing into him.

 

“Brother, you might want to drag your attention away from Magnus for a minute,” Jace said, raising his sword when he was back to back with Alec

 

Reality crashed back in when Alec looked up to see all eyes on him and Magnus. He looked around, seeing the shocked expressions on his fellow angel’s faces and the disgust on the faces of the demons that were watching them. He pulled Magnus closer when his eyes landed on Asmodeus. 

 

Asmodeus did not look happy, at all.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suck a dick, Camille! She is finally gone, the fucking bitch! Alec and Magnus working together to take her out is a whole fucking mood! Now they just have to face the rest of them. And don't worry, Simon and Clary will find them soon enough.


	25. A Promise to a Mate of Feathers and Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, it's Tuesday! Thank you for bearing with me while I complete this months Smut challenge. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, go and have a read. I'm just about to post the last chapter of, The Education of Alexander Lightwood. And it is epic!!! 
> 
> I hope you don't cry too hard at this chapter, I know I did and I'm sorry in advance.

Magnus stared into his father’s eyes, raising his head when he saw the fury in the flashing irises that were the match of his own. Anger flooded his veins at the sheer audacity of Asmodeus’ reaction. He watched his father’s eyes flick to Alec, Asmodeus’ lips pulling back over his teeth in a vicious snarl.

 

“What is the meaning of this?” Asmodeus roared, staring at his son and Alexander, at the way they were wrapped around each other, both of them glaring at him. He ignored Jonathan Christopher as he took a step forward, fully intending to drag his son away from the angel. He stopped short when the bite of a whip cracked an inch from his left ear.

 

“Back off, Asmodeus,” Izzy snarled, landing in front of Magnus and Alec. She hadn’t forgotten how devious he could be when he was angry. She pushed Elaine, Cat and Becky behind her when they landed beside her.

 

“Who is this?” Alec asked Cat, pressing his lips to the side of her head when she was close enough to reach. He didn’t know who the woman holding her was but he decided to leave Cat there, needing to be able to protect her properly if anyone decided to turn on them.

 

“Daddy! This is Elaine and that’s Becky, Simon’s mother and sister,” Cat said, smiling at the look of surprise on her dad’s face. She leaned into his touch and inhaled his scent, needing it for comfort. She didn’t like the way all of the angels and demons were looking at him. She reached out to hold onto Magnus’ shoulder too, wanting to be close to both of them.

 

“What is going on here? Why are the three of you protecting these demons?” Raziel asked, stepping forward when nobody was forthcoming with an explanation of what he had just witnessed. 

 

Raziel had done as Jonathan Christopher had asked and refrained from joining Alexander in dispatching the demon, accepting that he seemed to have some sort of personal vendetta with the woman. But the way Alexander was clinging to the second demon and the little blue one was unacceptable.

 

“I am protecting my mate and child, as is my right,” Alec said, putting himself between Raziel, and Magnus and Cat. “would you not do the same for Michael while he is surrounded by enemies? Is that not what you are doing right now?” he asked, staring pointedly at the way Raziel was standing in front of his mate. 

 

Alec exchanged a look with Jace and Izzy, his stomach dropping when the archangels gathered to whisper amongst themselves, already knowing what was coming. From the scared expressions on their faces, he knew that they did too. The archangels had called an enclave. He forgot all about them when Asmodeus stepped forward once more, it had them all tightening ranks around Cat, Elaine and Becky.

 

“Mate?” Asmodeus asked, the word barely more than a whisper as anger flooded him and built until he could hold it back no longer. “You have brought shame upon me by mating an angel?” he screamed at Magnus. His eyes zeroed in on Magnus’ wings to search for a white feather, confusion pulling his eyebrows down when he saw none.

 

“Do not talk to me of shame, Asmodeus. If you’d had your way, you would have mated me off to that, against my will,” Magnus spat, pointing at the pile of skin and bones that used to be Camille where she lay between him and his father.

 

“That is more shameful than any actions I have taken. Do you even see what your greed and selfishness has done? What Camille’s jealousy has done? Look around you, can you not see the results of your ambition? So many dead. And for what? Half of a realm that I have no doubt you wouldn’t have gotten your hands on anyway,” Magnus asked furiously.

 

“My motives for coming here are nothing to do with you, you treacherous little snake,” Asmodeus shouted, keenly aware of the shuffling demons around him. “I took you into my house when you had nothing, not a person in the all of the realms that cared for you. I raised you and gave you everything you ever needed and this is how you repay me? By whoring yourself out to one of them?”

 

“Watch your tongue, Asmodeus,” Alec snarled, rounding on the fallen angel. He was fully intending to rip it out if Asmodeus said one more thing against his mate.

 

“I quake before the great Avenger's wrath,” Asmodeus said mockingly, rolling his eyes as he rounded on Alec. “you have taken advantage of my son, you who I once counted as kin. Who will avenge him?” he snapped.

 

“I will be more than happy to avenge my mate,” Alec growled, gripping the sword that still dripped with Camille’s blood tighter as he summoned the other one from her lifeless body.

 

“The only person who has taken advantage of me is you,” Magnus snapped at his father as he lay his hand on Alec’s arm, wondering how his father had the gall to talk of others taking advantage of him. Asmodeus had been doing that for the last six hundred years.

 

“This ends now, you will return to Edom with me and you will never see this… thing again, do I make myself…?” Asmodeus cut off when a flapping of wings had him looking up. “I should have known you two wouldn’t be far away. This is obviously your doing,” he snapped when Clary and Simon landed next to Magnus.

 

“What’s going on?” Clary whispered to Jace when she landed next to him, ignoring Asmodeus’ histrionics. She gladly went when he pulled her in and tucked her under his arm, looking around. Her eyes widened when she saw Elaine and Becky, standing behind Izzy. 

 

Clary watched Simon, who was trying to look everywhere except at his mother, as she listened to Jace’s whispered explanation before giving her own of what had happened since they had parted. She would have celebrated Camille’s death if the situation hadn’t seemed so dire.

 

“Something you care to tell me, Simon?” Elaine asked when Simon landed next to her, her relief at seeing him being pushed aside by the look on his face. He hadn’t looked like that since he was a child, as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. It seemed he was completely unrepentant about it. ”Do you love her?” she asked, wanting to hear it from him. 

 

“More than my own life. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Simon said. He could have wept when his mother reached out and placed her hand on his arm with a nod, his sister doing the same. He reached out and pulled Izzy closer, moving to her side to face The Horde and Host that surrounded them. He elbowed Clary furiously when he spotted her parents.

 

“Shit,” Clary muttered when she saw what Simon was looking at. Her mother looked devastated, staring at her and Jace with tear-filled eyes, Jocelyn’s hand clutched to her mouth. She wanted to run forward and hug her mother, to wipe the tears from her face and promise that everything would be okay. 

 

‘I’m sorry’ Clary mouthed to her mother when the expression on her father’s face stopped her from moving forward to make promises she couldn’t keep. She wasn’t completely sure, having never seen it before, but she thought that maybe it was pride, shining in Valentine’s eyes. Her head snapped around when the angels who had been gathered nearby stepped forward, capturing her attention completely.

 

“Jonathan Christopher, Isabelle, are we to take it, from the way that you stand shoulder to shoulder with these demons, that the two of you have also found your mates?” Raziel asked when he broke the enclave with his fellow archangels.

 

“Yes, we have and we will protect them just as fiercely as Alec would protect his mate,” Jace said, glaring at the line of angels that faced them. He didn’t care that they were staring at him like he had lost his mind or the pity he saw in a few of the pairs of eyes that stared back. All he cared about was shielding Clary from their collective gaze.

 

“I agree. Simon is my mate, my true mate. I could take no other,” Izzy said, sliding her hand into Simon’s and gripping it tightly, in full view of her commander and his fellow archangels. There was no point in denying it and she couldn’t really say that she wanted to. Even if the consequences of the action were already breaking her heart. 

 

“Then the three of you are faced with a choice. You can denounce your mates, forsaking them and banishing them from your side for all eternity. Or, you can face the descent. Choose wisely, once you have made your decision, there is no taking it back,” Raziel said, his gaze sliding from face to face, angel and demon alike.

 

“That is not a choice, that is a travesty,” Magnus said, shaking his head at the one called Raziel. “You would banish them and deny The Host three of its most important angels, for daring to love someone who is not like you? What will the heavens do without them? They are irreplaceable,” he said, looking each archangel in the eye as he spoke, making a last-ditch effort to save Alec from their inevitable fate, even if he knew Asmodeus would show no such mercy to him. 

 

“It almost sounded like you were asking them to show mercy, Magnus,” Asmodeus said, laughing at his son's fanciful thoughts. “The Host does not show mercy and none is deserved for what you have done.”

 

“On this occasion, Asmodeus is correct, it is not our way, demon. Not for something like this. You know that it is forbidden, as do they. None of us is so highly placed in the hierarchy that we are exempt from the law set down for us. It is their choice to make,” Michael said harshly to the demon that questioned them.

 

“Say’s the angel who already has his mate. Tell us, why do you get to have your mate while we are forced to give ours up? What makes you so different?” Clary asked, furious at the unfairness of the choice Jace, Alec and Izzy were being given.

 

“My mate is an angel, you are a demon, there is a world of difference. The two do not mix,” Michael said incredulously. “As I said, it is the law…”

 

“The law that you set out. Do you not also have the power to change that law?” Simon asked, also wanting to give Izzy another chance.

 

“The two do not mix!” Raziel bellowed, rounding on the three demons that dared defy them. He ignored the snarls that started up from Alec, Jace and Izzy to continue. “You are demons, they are angels, what part of that do you not understand? You all knew the consequences of your actions, do not try to justify…”

 

“We are no better than them because we preside over the heavens,” Alec snarled, cutting his commander off. “So what if they are demons? Do they deserve to suffer for their father’s actions? They would have been angels were it not for the fall of their parents. That makes them no different to us.”

 

“Then let it be a lesson to you all, your actions have consequences. The decisions you make don’t just affect you. They made their decisions…” Raziel said, pointing at Asmodeus,  Valentine and Jocelyn. “... and the paths that lie before  _ you _ are the consequences. I suggest the three of you think about that before you make yours,” he said to Alec, Jace and Izzy.

 

Alec watched as Jace and Izzy turned to their mates, already whispering promises of finding each other. He turned to Magnus, raising his hand to cup his mate’s face. He stared into Magnus’ eyes, silently willing Magnus to tell him what to do. He wanted to mate Magnus, he wanted it more than he wanted to breathe and had done since the moment their swords had clashed. But they weren’t the only ones who would be affected by the decision.

 

Magnus could almost hear the thoughts as they ran through Alec’s head. He stared into the hazel eyes that he loved more than any other in the universe, the hopelessness of their situation rolling through him in great waves of despair. If it was just them, they wouldn’t even have to hesitate. But they had their daughter to consider and Cat had already lost so much. 

 

“Daddy? You should do it,” Cat told Alec, scrambling down from Elaine’s grip to throw herself at him. She wrapped one arm around his neck when he picked her up, and the other around Magnus’. “you should mate, you belong together,” she said, doing her best not to cry.

 

“It doesn’t work like that, little one,” Alec said, pressing his lips to Cat’s right temple as Magnus did the same on her left side, neither of them able to hold back the tears. “We talked about this, remember? We wouldn’t know each other…” he cut off, unable to continue.

 

“If Daddy and I mated, we would have to go away for…” Magnus stopped. He couldn’t say the word, he couldn’t face what it meant. Not when he pulled back to look at Cat and saw the trusting expression on her face. It broke his heart. “We wouldn’t be able to take you with us, either of us. We won’t remember this life.”

 

“But you love each other,” Cat said, looking from Magnus to Alec. “do you think you could find each other?” she asked, smiling as tears ran down her face when they nodded. “Then that means you can find me. You can find each other again and then you can come and find me.”

 

“You don’t understand, little one. I will never be able to return for you. Even if we manage to find each other again, I won’t be able to come to Edom to get you,” Magnus explained as gently as he could.

 

“Then I will wait for you in the cabin. We have forever,” Cat said, not entirely grasping the concept of forever, only knowing that it was a really long time.

 

“You are too little to live on your own in the cabin,” Alec chuckled through his tears, his heart swelling for her youthful optimism. Even after all she had endured, she still had a spark of wild hope. She still trusted them to make everything okay.

 

“We will find a way,” Cat shrugged. She couldn’t see the problem, they were all meant to be together. All her dads had to do was find each other.  _ It wouldn’t take that long, would it?  _ She wondered, smiling when they looked at each other for a long minute before nodding.

 

“What is your decision?” Raziel asked Alec, Izzy and Jace. He was pretty sure he already knew what they would choose from the way that they clung to their loved ones.

 

“You are already ripping us away from our mates, from our child. Could you not even give us a chance to say goodbye?” Alec snarled at the angel, anger swirling through him as he glared at the man who got to go home with his mate when it was all over. He turned his back on Raziel, he had long lost any shred of respect he had ever felt for his commander.

 

Magnus turned to his father, one last ember of hope still flickering in his chest that Asmodeus would, just for once, be the father that he needed. The spark died out when he saw the expression Asmodeus wore. He wasn't the only one who had been clinging onto hope.

 

“Asmodeus, please. I am begging you, as one parent to another. Please show them mercy,” Jocelyn begged, almost throwing herself on her knees before him. She could already see the decision Clary had made, by the way her daughter clung to Jonathan Christopher. She knew the pull of a true mate but if there was any chance… “offer them all a place in Edom, please. Don’t send our children away for finding the other halves of themselves.”

 

“No angel will  _ ever _ step foot in my realm,” Asmodeus said, unable to help the laugh that accompanied his words at the woman’s ridiculous suggestion. “Not if they have the intention of living,” he added.

 

Clary broke from Jace, passing the four-person bear hug that was Simon, Izzy, Elaine and Becky, to catch her mother when Jocelyn collapsed. She crossed the distance between them in a flash and wrapped her arms around her mother. 

 

“I love him,” Clary whispered through her own tears. “I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay without him,” she said. She looked up when she felt her father’s hand on her shoulder.

 

“At least he is not a demon,” Valentine said, scooping his mate and daughter up off of the ground. He pulled Jocelyn to his side when Clary let go of her.

 

Clary looked into Valentine’s eyes, nodding once before giving his hand a pat. It was more than she would have ever expected from him, even if it wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy, and was six hundred years too late. She leant up and pressed a kiss to each of her parent’s cheeks before she could think better of the move, and turned her back on them, to return to her mate’s side.

 

“Find each other and be happy, make your punishment count for something,” Elaine whispered to Simon and Izzy, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to keep Simon from Izzy, even if she wanted to. As long as there was a chance that he could be happy, it was all she could ask for, for him. 

 

“Look after my brother,” Becky said to Izzy, smiling her tears back when Izzy promised that she would. She took her mother’s hand between her own when Simon and Izzy let go.

 

“Hold off on the exchange until the others have spoken the words,” Alec whispered in Magnus’ ear when he pulled his mate and daughter into a tight embrace and buried his face in Magnus’ neck. 

 

“They can’t do anything to us until the feathers are in place, and I will be damned if I miss my brother and sister’s mating ceremonies because they want to punish us for falling in love,” Alec whispered, taking in a lungful of Magnus’ scent. 

 

“I will,” Magnus whispered, smiling into the soft skin of his Alpha’s neck, taking Alec’s scent in with each breath he took. It was the only act of defiance left to them and the hounds of the lowest realm couldn’t drag him from Clary and Simon’s mating ceremonies.

 

“What is your decision?” Raziel asked, having decided that they had had long enough, it was more than he usually allowed. He already knew what choice each of them would have made from the goodbyes they had said to their loved ones but he had to ask formally.

 

“There is no decision, I will not live without him,” Alec said, turning his back on the archangels. He gave Cat a squeeze before putting her down, letting her stand between them as he turned to face Magnus. 

 

Alec spread his wings and took hold of one of the quills in his left wing, twisting and yanking down on it, Magnus doing the same with his own left wing. He stared into Magnus’ eyes as he did it, barely batting an eyelid at the pain that ricocheted through his wing, refusing to look away. 

 

Alec held up the pure white, silver tipped feather that he had long since chosen for his Omega, his heart stuttering from the knowledge that the images that he had survived on, of the feather in Magnus’ beautiful wings, would become a reality when he said the ceremonial mating words. 

 

“Magnus, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Alec asked, speaking the words that had been on the tip of his tongue since the day Magnus had death spiralled into his life and taken up residence in his soul.

 

“I will, and even beyond that day. Not even death would be able to remove it,” Magnus said, fighting back his tears with everything that he had, refusing to mate Alec without being able to look him in the eye. 

 

Magnus held up the bronze speckled black feather that he had chosen for his Alpha, to finally speak the words that would cement the bond that had formed between them the moment he had looked into those stunning hazel eyes and his old, meaningless life had faded to nought but a memory.

 

“Alexander, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Magnus asked, knowing with all that he was, that Alec was the person that those questions had always been meant for.

 

“I will, for an eternity that will never be long enough,” Alec said, meaning it from the tips of his feathers down to the marrow of his bones.

 

Cat stared up at her dads, letting her tears fall down her face freely, their words had been too sweet not too. She took her place in front of them when they stood side by side and put a hand each on her shoulders, gripping their hands and wondering what would come next.

 

Magnus looked into Alec’s eyes, clutching his feather tightly, seeing Alec do the same before he nodded at his Alpha. He turned to Clary, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips as he took Alec’s free hand in his own and interlocked their fingers, waiting for his friend to take the hint.

 

Clary’s eyebrows rose in a silent question as she waited for Magnus and Alec to complete their mating ceremony, she had been waiting a long time to see Magnus settled with somebody who deserved him. 

 

It took a suggestive eyebrow wiggle and Magnus’ eyes flicking between her and Jace as he nodded his encouragement for Clary to get the message. An amused smile that corresponded with Magnus’ tugged at the corners of her mouth as she turned to Jace and yanked the feather that she had been eyeing for him out of her wing.

 

“Jonathan Christopher, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Clary asked, staring up into Jace’s mismatched eyes. 

 

Her breath caught when she saw the look in his eyes, the same one he had worn the day she had stumbled upon him. It spoke of wonder and a home, a promise that she was the person he was supposed to love, forever. She knew she would do the same.

 

“I will, it will see me through until the day I can find you again,” Jace said, pulling Clary’s feather out of his wing. It had been hers since the moment her scent had dragged him towards a future that he could never have imagined but one that he could never give up, his life had been empty before her.

 

“Clarissa, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Jace asked, reaching out to cup her face. He wanted to memorise the contours of it and cling to the memory until he could hold her once more.

 

“I will, I’ll protect it until you can wrap your wings around me once more,” Clary murmured, leaning into Jace’s touch. She was certain she would feel it for the next thousand years. She turned to Simon and Izzy when Jace’s hand swept down her arm to grasp her hand, laughing through her tears when she saw that neither of them needed to be told.

 

Izzy ignored the frustrated, impatient tuts from the archangels as she spun on the spot, beating Simon to it to yank the perfect rose gold marbled white feather from the tip of her left wing. She wanted to be able to see his feather shining in that spot every time she beat her wings. She held it up before Simon could ask first, to truly make him her Alpha. 

 

“Simon, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Izzy asked, almost forgetting herself and shoving it straight into the gap in Simon’s wing where he had removed her feather. She had waited too many centuries to find him and even a few more minutes was too much to bear.

 

“ I will, I wouldn’t trade that feather for a thousand full lifetimes together,” Simon said, taking Izzy’s spare hand and brushing his lips across her knuckles as he gripped the black and titanium feather that would soon belong to her in his other hand. Holding it up, he repeated her words with wild hope, still surprised that he got to call her his mate.

 

“Isabelle, will you accept this feather, as a token of my eternal commitment and devotion to you? Will you place it in your wing and keep it as a symbol of my undying love for you? Will you accept me as your wingmate, until the day we are parted by death?” Simon asked, holding Izzy’s hand in a death grip. He wasn’t ready to let go.

 

“I will, now and for the rest of my days,” Izzy whispered through the lump in her throat, pressing her forehead to Simon’s when he lowered his head. As much as she hated the thought of being separated from him, even for a day, she couldn’t bring herself to regret that Simon was her mate.

 

“Is it finished now, daddy? Does that mean that you are all mated?” Cat asked, ripping her eyes away from Izzy and Simon to look at Magnus. Theirs, and Jace and Clary’s words had been just as sweet as Magnus and Alec’s had. It was pretty but her stomach was flopping around as she realised that this was when she had to say goodbye.  _ It’s only for a short while.  _ She told herself.

 

“There is one more part, little one, the most important part. It is time for you to be a big, brave girl now,” Magnus said, swinging her up to hold her between him and his mate before he turned to Simon’s mother and sister. The three of them already loved each other and there was nobody else he would entrust with Cat’s safety.

 

“Will you take care of our daughter, until we are able to do it ourselves?” Magnus asked Becky and Elaine, forcing himself to ask the one thing he’d never thought he would have to. He hadn’t known that his body would have enough room for the relief that swept through him when the women nodded, Elaine, holding her arms out to take Cat.

 

“We love you, so much,” Alec murmured in Cat’s ear, wedging her between him and his mate as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms and wings around them. “Never forget that. You are the best thing that ever happened to us, we will be together again, one day, my sweet girl. I promise.”

 

“We will find a way, always,” Magnus said, stroking his hands through Cat’s hair and wiping her tears away, as he fought his own. “I love you, my darling,” he said before taking her from Alec’s arms and giving her one last squeeze.

 

“I love you too, daddy, see you soon,” Cat whispered to Magnus, pressing kisses to his cheeks. She reached out and put her hand on Alec’s face. “Love you as well, daddy,” she said with her best smile. She didn’t want either of them to be sad. She only held on a tiny bit when Magnus gave her to Elaine, just for a moment longer before she made herself let go.

 

Magnus let Alec pull him away, his gut turning to lead when Cat’s fingers tightened their hold. He had to tell himself that it wasn’t forever, it was the only way he could let her go. She had become his daughter in every way but by the blood that ran through their veins. From the expression on Alec’s face, he knew his Alpha felt the same.

 

Alec tore his eyes away from Cat to look Magnus in the eye, holding his hand tighter.  _ How did I ever think I was ever going to be able to say goodbye to him?  _ He asked himself bitterly as he pulled Magnus flush to his chest and crushed his lips to his Omega’s, desperately trying to convey every ounce of the love he felt for the man in his arms.

 

Magnus met Alec with a passion that would have set the heavens on fire. He moulded himself to Alec as memories of every kiss, every hurried touch and soft ragged breath that had ever passed between them swirled through his mind, uncaring of the fact that others were watching and waiting to pull them apart. 

 

Only the need to breathe could have pulled Alec away from his mate, and even that motive was questionable to him. But the lack of oxygen and the intoxicating scent of Magnus inevitably took their toll. He broke the kiss breathing hard as he raised the feather in his hand, knowing that his brother and sister were doing the same without having to look.

 

Magnus raised his own feather as he stared into Alec’s eyes, knowing that it was time. “I will find you, I love you, Alexander,” he murmured.

 

“I love you more, we will find each other,” Alec whispered.

 

“Always fly back to me,” Alec and Magnus whispered together, the last words of the mating ceremony that would bond them, in unison with Izzy, Simon, Jace and Clary, as they each pressed the quills of their feathers to the gap that had been left in their mate’s wing, both wincing when they pushed the quill into place. 

 

Alec willed his Iratze to heal the quill of Magnus’ feather into his wing, tearing his eyes away from his mate for a scant moment to see it glistening in the middle of his white and silver wing. 

 

The sight of the dark feather, nestled seamlessly into his own feathers took Alec’s breath away. The contrast was perfect, as was the connection he felt to his Omega, humming just under his skin and filling him with a peace he hadn’t known could exist. He could  _ feel  _ Magnus there.

 

Magnus used his magic to heal the quill of Alec’s feather into his wing, the rightness of it seeping into every cell of his body, along with a connection to Alec that went beyond words in its comfort. It was more than he could have asked for when he felt Alec, under is skin, in his heart, permeating the very depths of his soul. He managed to rip his eyes away from the shining white feather that would forever belong in the inky darkness of his own, to look up into Alec's eyes.

 

Before reality seeped back in. 

 

“Alexander, Jonathan Christopher, Isabelle. For the crime of breaking one of Heavens most sacred laws, mating a demon, I cast you out,” Raziel and his fellow archangels each bellowed in unison, ensuring that every angel and demon listening bore witness to their words. 

 

Raziel stepped forward to set the terms of their punishment, bellowing loud enough to be heard in every realm.

 

“You are banished from The Host. You will never again know the warmth of the heavens, you are welcome here no longer. You are no longer our brothers or sister. Let it be known by all, that the heavenly realms offer you refuge and succour, no longer. No angel shall offer you aid, ever again. You are forevermore banished to the mortal realm to live out your lives in punishment for your actions.”

 

Raziel raised his hand and clapped them together with one almighty boom that reverberated across every realm of the heavens, a bright, golden glow surrounding his hands as he delivered their sentence.

 

Alec’s grip on Magnus’ hand tightened when he felt the delivery of his sentence; like a hand had descended and taken hold of his wings. He jerked Magnus forward a few steps as he was hauled off of his feet and launched backwards, wings first. His grip on Magnus’ hand broke as he was dragged from the heavens. Magnus’ wide, desperate, pain filled eyes and Cat’s scream were the last things he saw and heard.

 

“Daddy! No, come back!” Cat screamed when Alec was jerked away. She tried to get loose from Elaine’s grip as panic descended on her. She had thought that Alec would just have to leave, not that he would be dragged violently through the air by his wings in a bright, golden blur. She fought Elaine with all of her strength, screaming louder when first Jace, then Izzy were dragged away in the same direction too, but she couldn’t get loose.

 

Magnus had tried to hold on for as long as possible but it was no use. He fell to his knees, watching as Alec was dragged away from him, a hole forming where his heart used to be. He couldn’t take his eyes from his mate until the last minute when Alec faded from his sight.

 

“Jace! No!” Clary cried. She leapt into the air, unable to do anything but try and follow Jace. She forgot all about her own punishment, crying hysterically from the wide-eyed look of shock that had been her last view of Jace’s face. Pain ricocheted through her wings before she had had a chance to gain three feet of air, sending her crashing down into a sobbing heap next to Magnus.

 

“Asmodeus!” Simon bellowed, already over the shock of Izzy being ripped from his arms, he just wanted their punishment over with so he could follow her. He let his magic coalesce over his hands, intending to strike Asmodeus down for blasting Clary out of the air. But the greater demon was quicker.

 

“You have been a thorn in my side for years, it will be my pleasure to banish you to that pit of a realm. All three of you,” Asmodeus snarled, holding Simon at bay in a magical grip that Simon had no hope of breaking. 

 

Magnus looked up into his father's eyes, glaring at him with pure hatred. Asmodeus could have made even the tiniest of efforts to redeem himself, to put his ambition and greed aside to have something more important, a family. But it was more than clear that all Asmodeus cared about was power. It was all he had ever cared about.

 

Magnus raised his arm and created a portal, refusing to let Cat see him be dragged away too. 

 

“Take her and go,” Magnus yelled at Elaine and Becky. He turned to look at Cat, her wailing screams almost breaking him in two. He didn’t know what would happen between the angels or demons when they were gone but he fully intended for his daughter to have no part of it.

 

“Go, both of you,” Simon gritted out when it looked like his mother was going to try to come to his aid. Her magic was strongest when it came to healing, not fighting. “She needs your protection,” he said to his mother, knowing that it was the only thing that could turn her away. He watched as she and Becky turned and darted towards Magnus’ portal both of them sobbing.

 

“No! Daddy, wait, I’m not ready!” Cat screamed, fighting Elaine’s grip once more in an effort to get to her father.

 

“Be brave, sweetheart, I love you,” Magnus called out as first, Elaine, with a struggling Cat in her arms, then Becky ran through. He shut it down the moment Cat was carried to safety, an empty space forming in his stomach, to match the empty space in his heart. He pulled himself to his feet, pulling Clary up with him and wrapping his arms around her shaking body.

 

“Get it over with, Asmodeus,” Magnus said, his tone as cold and empty as the rest of him was when he rounded on his father.

 

“With pleasure,” Asmodeus said, staring at his disappointment of a son. A feral grin tugged at the corners of his mouth as he took the three of them in. “by deciding to mate yourselves to those three, you have cemented your fate and decided your own punishment. The three of you want to be tied to them for eternity? Then so be it.”

 

Asmodeus raised his hands, intoning a mixture of spells that he cast on the three demons that stood before him. He snapped them together, in imitation of Raziel’s earlier movement, and with the clap that thundered throughout the realm, seeled his son’s fate, along with the fates of Clary and Simon.

 

Magnus lost his grip on Clary when he was jerked into the air, the same way his mate had been. It felt like somebody had wrapped a hand around his wings and yanked him backwards, his friends following. Jocelyne’s sobs may have been the last thing that he heard but the devious grin that was spreading over Asmodeus’ face was the last thing that he saw as he was dragged in the opposite direction of the one that his mate had been dragged in.

 

_ Wait for me, Alexander, I will see you soon, my love.  _ Magnus thought as he started the fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that happened. The archangels are areseholes, so is Asmodeus and so am I! I'm so sorry! Those mating words were so bittersweet to write and I'm so emotional right now.
> 
> There is one more chapter for this part, the epilogue, which I will post next Tuesday. The next part, which will be a different fic that can be found by clicking the series link under the tags, will be starting the week after.


	26. The Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello, my dears. So this is the last chapter of this part. But not the end of the story. I will be starting the next part next week. It will be a different fic, with different tags. The second part will be called The Divide, and I will be using a new cover on Twitter, Tumblr and Wattpad whenever I update so look out for it. It will follow our boys and their family on a journey of finding their way back to each other. It will focus on Malec but the others will be there too, and we will meet a couple of new characters, one in particular who I know you will all love. 
> 
> Please pay attention to the tags of the next part, they are important! There will be just as much angst in the second one as there was in this one but I promise, it will be worth it in the end. Thank you so much for sticking with me this long, for all of the comments and kudos, and I hope you all love the next part as much as you loved this one. To find the next part, either subscribe to the series or click the Fallen series link under the tags.
> 
> Hopefully, I'll see you soon!

 

Panic gripped Alec as he was dragged through the first heavenly realm, his arms and legs flailing as he tried, in vain, to reach out for something,  _ anything  _ to grab onto. It was useless. It was like he had no control over his body, something that he had never once felt in very long existence. 

 

The vulnerability that stole over him had him flailing harder, trying to fight the grip that had ahold of his wings.

 

As a warrior, Alec knew every part of his body, had spent centuries honing his control over every component that made him up. Knowing how to move and what his capabilities were had been the difference between life and death more times than he cared to count.

 

But this yanking, being dragged away from everything he knew and loved was a new and terrifying experience, it was too much. He already wanted it to be over. The sight of his brother and sister, following him, in the same manner, made it even worse. 

 

His heart broke for them, even more than it did for himself. It had been  _ his _ fault that they had even met Clary and Simon in the first place. If they hadn't been following him, they would have spent the rest of their lives in ignorant bliss. They wouldn't have had their mates but they would have been safe. 

 

The guilt that drove through his veins was almost unbearable, they faced an uncertain eternity of loss because of  _ him, _ because of  _ his _ actions. 

 

But even through the guilt and the panic and the seemingly never-ending desperation that had taken a hold of him, Alec still couldn't bring himself to regret meeting Magnus. How could he? 

 

He tried to imagine what his life would have been if he had never met his mate. _Sad, lonely, an endless, miserable existence that you didn’t even know was miserable,_ his brain whispered. He had always thought of himself as content before he had met Magnus. He had had his training, his duty, his siblings. That was enough, wasn’t it?

 

A bitter laugh at the ridiculous thought ripped from him, it had been a pale imitation of life before Magnus had come along. His stomach flipped when he passed another group of his brothers and sisters and they turned their backs on him, as he had done the same to those that had fallen before him. It hurt more than he would have thought possible.

 

He had fought and breathed and bled with those angels and they turned away as he was ripped from their presence. He had known it would happen, he had done it himself, 87 times. 87 angels had fallen to this fate in his almost 800 years. And 87 times, he had turned his back and cast them out.  _ And now I know exactly what that action feels like.  _

 

All thoughts were driven from Alec’s mind when he finally reached the edge of the realm and he was cast out, tossed out into the ether with a pain that ripped up his spine and out through his wings. His stomach convulsed as his mind went blank, hiding from the indescribable pain that almost tore him in two.

 

It was a moment in coming, but, as his brain kicked back into life, he wondered if the scream that clawed its way out of his throat could be heard in every realm. Tears streamed down his face as he cried out, a raw, primal scream of pain and fear that he thought would never stop.

 

It did stop when he heard another scream, and then another. His scream stopped but not the pain. He blinked his tears away with gritted teeth, to try and see, to search for the source of the sound but it wasn’t to be. Something far worse than the grip that had dragged him from the heavens took ahold of him. His stomach to be more precise. 

 

The fall. 

 

The pain in his wings started to recede into his back as he started to fall in earnest, the stars passing by in a blur that was terrifying. He tried to spread his wings, to catch himself and slow his descent but there was something wrong, he couldn’t do it. He tried again and again, tears of frustration streaming down his face as a guttural roar tore from him.

 

_ Why won’t they work? Just spread them and soar.  _ His brain screamed at him as he tumbled through the cosmos. He tried to turn his head, to look at his wings but the immense pressure, that was forcing his body downwards, wouldn’t let him.

 

_ And so the punishment begins.  _

 

Fear of the unknown curled through Alec’s stomach, snaking its way through his system, flooding his veins and turning them to ice. He didn’t know what he was facing. None of them did. The only thing he knew was that the fall would take one week.

 

Seven days, seven miserable days for him to reflect on what he had done, to dwell on his sins and question if he had taken the right course of action. Seven days to punish himself more surely than the fall would, for all that he had done. Everything else was uncertain. And that was what scared him the most.

 

Why? Why had he never thought to seek a fallen angel out in the mortal realm, in all of those times he had gone there? He knew why he had never done it  _ before  _ Magnus. Because the words that Raziel had uttered were the same words that had been said to each angel that had ever mated a demon.

 

_ “No angel shall offer you aid or succour,” _

 

It was their way. Once an angel was cast out, there was no going back. They were banished and there  _ was _ no seeking them out. No matter how painful the loss.

 

But after Magnus? After meeting his mate, why hadn’t he... They, ever sought out a banished angel, or demon?

 

_ Because you buried your head. You hid from your inevitable future because you knew, the moment you lay eyes on him, that this would be your story. You didn’t want to see what you would become. And neither did he.  _ His brain sniped at him.

 

Magnus. 

 

The thought of Magnus going through what was happening to him had a lead weight dropping into Alec’s stomach. He wasn’t ashamed to say that fear was the prevailing emotion that now seemed to be his constant companion and the thought of Magnus facing that fear was worse to him than his own.

 

Alec banished the thought that paraded through his mind.  _ I should have stayed away from him. I should have let him be, he would have been okay if I had just had the strength to resist him... if he had had the strength to stay away from me.  _ He banished it again and again. 

 

Would Magnus really have been better off though?  _ No, he wouldn’t. He would have been forced to mate that vile waste of skin. He would have known nothing but misery, he would never have known hope.  _ He believed his mate would have been able to stand up to her, Magnus was strong. But, would he have been able to do it in time? Before she mated him?

 

That thought sustained him and drowned out everything else. It was all he had, the only thing that he could cling to, to stop the guilt that had taken hold of him the moment Raziel’s hands had slammed together, from crushing him as surely as the pressure on his body was. 

 

Maybe it was self-aggrandizing and selfish to cast himself as some type of hero, in Magnus’ story, but his mind held onto it, to protect himself from the knowledge that Magnus wouldn’t be in this predicament if it hadn’t been for him.

 

_ And so the punishment continues. _

 

_ ** _

 

Jace caught sight of Alec as he began his pain filled fall, his stomach trying to reject whatever lay in it, without much success. The sight that greeted him had his scream dying in his throat. 

 

_ Where are his wings? _

 

Jace tried to turn his head, to look at his own wings but the pain in them and the pressure on his body were too much. He couldn’t turn his head, no matter how hard he tried. Tears rolled down his face when Izzy passed him, the sound of his sister’s screams driving deep into his gut. 

 

_ Hers are gone too.  _

 

Dread and fear curled through Jace in equal measures. If their wings were gone, that meant that the pain that was starting to recede into his back meant his were gone too. His stomach tried to rebel once more, desolation drawing a scream from his throat that almost ripped it apart.

 

_ Clary.  _

 

_ By all the angels of The Host, what if she has lost her wings too?  _ That thought had him trying to shake his head in denial.  _ No, they can’t be gone, she can’t lose her wings, its too much, not after all that has been taken from us, not this too. _

 

The thought of the universe being denied those beautiful black and copper wings, the wings that now held one of his own white and gold feathers was devastating to Jace. Of course, he loved every part of his mate, but the image of her wings, wings that he was supposed to find repulsive, had gotten him through the worst of nights when he hadn’t been able to hold her in his arms.

 

_ I did this to her. I took away her wings and her life and her freedom... because I was too selfish to say goodbye. This is my fault!  _ He started to wonder if she would ever forgive him when he found her, would she be able to forgive the loss of so much of herself?

 

Jace couldn’t help but think that this was the real punishment. They might be forced apart, to live out an eternity without each other but would the loss of who his mate was, make her hate him if they ever did manage to find each other? He knew she would never be able to forgive him because he would never be able to forgive himself.

 

_ And living while she hates me is worse than living without her at all. _

 

_ ** _

 

Of all the things Izzy had imagined would happen if she fell, the sight of her arm was something she had never anticipated. She couldn’t turn her head to look at the rest of her, only able to sweep her eyes up and down her arm as it flailed in front of her. But she had seen enough to want to slam them closed and never look again. 

 

Tears ran silently down her cheeks, devastation stealing her voice as she stared at the black marks that had once been her beautiful, glowing golden runes. The glow was gone, replaced by black runes that signified her punishment in terms more devastating than she could handle.

 

She was banished, welcome in The Host no more. She didn’t get to have beautiful runes that lit up with righteous anger when the lost souls of the universe needed guidance, not anymore. She wished for the pain in her wings to return, for a physical manifestation of the mental anguish that was now plaguing her. Because physical pain was easier to endure, wasn’t it?

 

These runes were ugly, taking up unwelcome space on her body. She missed the glow more than she could put into words. It was nothing compared to how much she missed Simon though.

 

_ Simon.  _

 

There was the pain. The pain of losing him. It knifed through her gut, like the physical pain that she craved. It filled every cell of her body. She cried harder at the thought of never seeing his adorable smile again. Or listening to his incessant chatter. Or waking up in his arms and inhaling his scent, filling herself up with it. Or his hands on her body, making love to her until she forgot what they were.

 

Izzy could still feel the ghost of his lips on her skin, could still hear the sounds of his breaths in her ear as he pushed into her. The texture of his hair still lingered on her fingers, as though she still held onto it. 

 

That was the worst part, she had learned him, memorised the contours of his body and soared under his touch. And now it was gone. She didn’t know which torture was worse, remembering what if had felt like to lose herself in him or the knowledge that she would forget.

 

_ And he will forget too. He won’t know me, he won’t remember the conversations and the laughter and the nights spent wrapped around each other. He won’t remember any of it. And he will regret ever meeting me when he does because I stole him from his family. I ripped him away from everything he knew, everyone else who loved him because mine was the only love that mattered. _

 

_ What have I done? I don’t deserve his love.  _

 

The punishment Izzy inflicted on herself was far worse than what the archangels had done to her. Because the entire situation was her fault. Wasn’t it?

 

**

 

Simon tried to forget the image of his mother and sisters faces as he was pulled back from them, the look of horror on his sister’s face, and the fear on his mother’s. He tried to fight the pressure on his wings, to claw his way back to them, knowing how much his actions had hurt them. 

 

He had done as he pleased, snook off and lost himself time and time again in his angel, living out the fantasy that they could actually be together. And now his family had to suffer his fate too. Everyone he loved was suffering because he had only thought about what his own loss would mean. The loss of his mate.

 

_ Izzy.  _

 

The loss of Izzy hurt more than everything else put together. Her shocked face as she was dragged away, clinging to his fingers until the last second before he lost his grip, hurt more than the fear and horror that Becky and Elaine had worn. It hurt more than his own fear for the future and it hurt more than the pain that ripped through his spine and shot out through his wings.

 

It sawed through every nerve he possessed, like a dagger being dragged from the base of his spine out to the pinions of his wings, concaving his body in a useless attempt to try and escape it.

 

The scream that ripped from him as he was tossed out over the edges of the heavens was more than for the pain. It was a feral, primal scream of loss. Loss of that beautiful smile, soft thick hair, splaying over his chest where she lay, loss her soft skin as she clung to him, enveloped him and took away his breath and his will. 

 

It was for the loss of her fiery passion, her desire to protect those she loved, the way she loved her brothers and wanted only happiness for them. It was for the way that she embodied the very best of life, flouncing through it with grace and beauty and a deadly left hook. It was for the loss of a touch that was just as deadly in its gentleness. 

 

And the scream was for himself.

 

_ It is all my fault.  _

 

**

 

Clary relished the pain that ripped through her, even as her mind instinctively tried to reject it. This was what she deserved, for her impulsive actions. It was always the same, act first and think later. Except all she had thought about was herself, her own desires, what she wanted.

 

All she had thought about was… Jace.

 

_ Jace.  _

 

The need to be loved and accepted fully for who she was had pushed the consequences out of Clary’s mind, and now he was suffering right along with her. Sure her mother loved her, accepted her as a parent should. But six hundred years of being a disappointment that Valentine had rejected, time and time again had taken their toll.

 

Then Jace had come along. He had adored her, fought to protect her, worshipped her in the darkest hours of the night. He hadn’t seen a demon, he had seen her. Just her. His touch on her skin had spoken of promises of never letting go. His words and actions, his protectiveness and passion. They were all the things that she had craved for so long.

 

And now he was being tossed away, like so much refuse. She had ruined him. Her mere presence was enough to condemn him, to drive him away from all he knew and loved. Because she was selfish and desperate and so blinded by her love for him that she had forgotten to look out for him. To protect him. 

 

From herself. 

 

And that was worse than anything any of The Host or The Horde could have done to them. Because, even if she forgot, she would still be the one who had caused Jace’s downfall. She might forget it with her mind, but her soul would remember.

 

_ This is what I deserve. _

 

**

 

The pain that had ripped through Magnus as he had been tossed out into the universe was nothing compared to the absolute despair that had taken over him. The pain was a faint tickle compared to the self-hatred that washed through him in waves. The pain was no more than he deserved.

 

_ This is what your selfish need has brought down upon him.  _ His mind snarled at him, savagely ripping into him.  _ He loved you, he fucking cherished you and what did you give him in return? Nothing, all you did was take. You took his love and devotion and then you took his freedom and his wings. _

 

Magnus had no doubt that what had happened to him, Clary and Simon, had also happened to the others. His father’s parting words had floated into his mind, the moment Clary and Simon had fallen passed him. The moment he had realised that their wings were gone, and the moment he had realised what that pain had meant.

 

_ “You wanted to tie yourselves to them? Then so be it.” _

 

That condemnation told him all he needed to know. Pain cut through his gut, stealing his breath and his will to survive the fall.  _ Alexander’s wings, his beautiful wings, the wings that had felt like home. _

 

Every time Alec had wrapped his wings around Magnus’ body, a sense of peace and calmness had radiated through him. Every time he had pushed his fingers into the soft down of Alec’s feathers and seen that expression of pleasure, had heard it, had been his bliss. How many times had he lost himself in them? How many times had he stolen his own breath, along with Alec’s, when he had curled his fingers through those feathers?

 

And now, Alec would never again soar through the skies. The thought of Alec even suffering one fraction of what he was feeling would have driven Magnus to his knees far more violently than the pressure being exerted on his body if he had been on solid ground. 

 

His mate would never feel that freedom again, the pleasure and exhilaration of letting himself go and giving over to the drop in his stomach as he plummeted and spun and  _ danced. _

 

Magnus was glad his own wings were gone, he didn’t deserve them.

 

_ How can I even say I love him when I’ve taken so much from him? How can he love me after what I have done?  _ A fear more potent than any he had ever felt curled through him then. What if Alec didn’t love him anymore? What if everything that he had taken had finally been too much for his Alpha?

 

_ She was right, you were never worthy of love. Never worthy of his love.  _ His brain sniped at him, whispering the words in a voice that was eerily familiar and stomach churning in its unwantedness. 

 

_ No! Our love is stronger than that, he loves me. I am worthy! _

 

Magnus clung to it, to the words that Alec had told him, again and again. Because it was all he had. He would give up if he didn’t cling on to hope, as surely as Camille had hoped for and he couldn’t give up. If he did, how would he find his Alpha? How would he be able to beg Alec to forgive him, to show Alec that his faith and love and encouragement, that his sacrifice, had been worth it if he gave up?

 

And then there was Cat. His loving, sweet, faithful daughter. She was waiting for them, expecting them to come for her, for them all to be together again. How could he take her, the girl who had lost so much, into his arms and assure her everything was okay if he gave up? 

 

_ You fight and you force yourself to live for them so that when the day comes for you to be together again, you can earn their forgiveness.  _

 

It was all he had. He just hoped it would be enough.

 

**

 

Alec didn’t know how long it had been since he had felt solid ground under his feet. A strange notion tugged at the corners of his mind, that he was used to not feeling the ground beneath his feet. 

 

_ Wings. I’m used to flying.  _ He told himself, feeling the ghost of the wings that had always been there but were now long gone.  _ You had wings, remember them!  _ He told himself.

 

They were such an intrinsic part of who Alec was. He wished he had enjoyed them more. A thought tugged at him, an image of a spiral filling his mind. He opened his eyes, not having realised that he had closed them, to see two others in the distance, falling just as fast as he was.

 

Alec tried to reach out to them, to call out to them but the distance was too great to be breached. That vastness was terrifying in and of itself. He had never felt so alone in his life. He desperately needed them. He wasn’t quite sure why; he just knew that he didn’t want to be alone.

 

_ Why am I alone? What did I do to deserve this?  _ Alec wondered, confusion swirling through him. Why was it so hard to remember? His brain pushed the questions away as his eyes swept the stars that surrounded him. They were beautiful, golden, sparkling. They reminded him of something. He watched the twinkling balls of gas, shining gold and amber, bronze and silver. 

 

_ Bronze. Amber. Eyes.  _

 

_ Magnus’ eyes.  _ Alec physically jerked as his mind was filled with images of Magnus’ face. Bright, beautiful, glowing amber eyes. 

 

_ Magnus. Magnus. Magnus.  _ He silently chanted, forcing himself to remember more, clinging to the image of his mate’s eyes, his beautiful golden skin, the small dimples at the small of his back when he stretched in the morning.

 

_ Don’t you dare forget him!  _ Alec screamed at himself, filling his head with memories. Memories of a blanket pooling around Magnus’ hips with the sun at his back. Of Magnus making sure he had enough food on his plate. Of Magnus’ teeth grazing the rune on his neck.

 

_ That rune is probably as black as the rest of them.  _ Alec thought, closing his eyes so he didn’t have to look at the marks on his arms. He smiled when an image of blue and green wings filled his mind. They were small, beating hard against the air. Laughter filled his head.

 

_ “You don’t have to work so hard for it, little one,” _

 

_ Who is the little one?  _ Alec asked himself, straining to remember.  _ And why does that soft voice sound so sweet? The laughter is beautiful.  _ It was the kind of sound he could happily listen to forever, even as the sounds and memories slipped away, one by one.

 

_ Forever, what a ridiculous notion. _

 

_ ** _

 

_ They are my friends, two of the people I love the most.  _ Magnus told himself when his mind wondered who the others were. He fought to clear his head, trying to shake some coherent thoughts into it. They had been coming sporadically for the last…  _ how long have I been here? _

 

_ The friends I dragged into this mess. They shouldn’t be here.  _ Snapped into his head.  _ My friends. We are falling. And it is my fault.  _

 

_ Why? _

 

_ Because I couldn’t exercise any control over myself. Because I couldn’t stop myself from going… to him. _

 

_ Alexander.  _

 

Magnus tried to pull his arms around his stomach, wishing he could fold in on himself. He was forgetting his mate. He refused to let go of the memories, even as they tried to trickle out of his mind like water through cupped hands.

 

_ Remember him, please don’t forget.  _ Magnus begged himself for what felt like the hundredth time but he wasn’t quite sure, angry tears streaming down his face. He remembered falling, just like this, and strong arms coming around him, lifting him weightlessly through the air. Dancing together, wings touching again and again as they had twirled with the cool wind in their hair and warm breath on their faces. 

 

_ Wings.  _

 

_ I don’t have wings anymore.  _

 

An image of a black wing with one gleaming white and silver feather snook through Magnus’ mind, leaving as quickly as it had come.  _ Beautiful.   _

 

_ Almost as beautiful as pink, soft, full lips. And hairs sprinkled over a strong chest. A tiny scar in a perfectly arched brow. A tongue that tastes as sweet as the wine that coats it, as it glides with mine. Soft leg hairs that glide up my back as a leg wraps tighter around me. _

 

Soft whispers. Promises that sink into a tired, broken soul and revive it. Words that smash through walls built by others, burning through webs of lies and swearing that the future will be better. _ Believing those promises down to the tips of my…? The tips of my…? _

 

_ Alexander. Please forgive me when we meet again, my love.  _

 

Magnus closed his eyes, letting smaller memories float through it, clinging to them like a plank of driftwood. Even as they trickled away.

 

Hiding in passageways. The first sparks of magic at his fingertips. A small, red-haired demon wrestling him to the ground. Black eyes staring into his from a face that lay on a pillow next to him. Deep, demonic snores pouring from between small blue lips. Shaking someone awake so that he didn’t have to be the only one. Combs tangling in knotted hair. Gentle, long fingers rubbing at the small back of a sleeping child.

 

_ The beautiful face of a beautiful angel and a scent that could sustain me until my dying day. _

 

_ ** _

 

Pain. 

 

Emptiness. 

 

_ How long have I been here? _

 

_ The ground slamming into me. _

 

_ Breaking me. _

 

A shadow.

 

A face.

 

He looked up when the face appeared, his eyeballs the only part of him that wasn’t broken. That would still work. He blinked, focusing his eyes as the face came closer. 

 

Dark hair. Blue eyes. 

 

_ A tension hiding in them. _

 

His eyes followed when a hand came into view.

 

Metal with a white, glowing tip.

 

A searing pain on his hip that melded with the rest of the pain, sweeping through his broken body.

 

Burning.

 

Soothing. 

 

His breath escaped in a loud hiss, all he could manage when a soothing sensation radiated out from his hip. He didn’t know how long he lay there as the sensation worked through him, healed him, mended almost all that was broken in him. 

 

Almost everything. It couldn’t fill him up. The empty space in his stomach and heart remained, even as the rest of him grew stronger. 

 

A name tingled on the tip of his tongue as a question floated into his ear.

 

“What is your name?”

 

“Name?” he asked, his voice low and gruff, gravelling out. The name he wanted to say was right there, somehow vitally important to him. No, it was everything to him, the most important thing in his existence. More important to him than his own. But his mind wouldn’t let him remember. He jerked his head when the question came again.

 

“My name is…” he paused, trying to think before his brain finally supplied it. “My name is Alec.”

 

“Your name is Alec Lightwood.”

 

“Lightwood?” it felt strange on Alec’s tongue, something that he wasn’t sure was right, as though it didn’t belong. 

 

Alec sat up gingerly when the hand reached down and pulled him into a sitting position, waiting for the pain to return but it didn’t. He watched the blue-eyed man when the metal with the white tip came closer again. A burning sensation on the back of his left arm almost had him jerking back but the man held on until it was done.

 

“You are a Shadowhunter, this is the mark of the angel.”

 

Alec went when the man pulled him to his feet and handed him a blanket to cover his nakedness.  _ Why am I naked?  _ He looked down, seeing shreds of clothing, brown leather and white material, busted leather sandals. His gaze swept over them, wondering what had happened and what they were. His brain pushed the questions away and focused on the black marks that covered his body, once again wondering what they were before the question slipped away. 

 

Alec noticed two others standing close by when he looked up, both also wrapped in blankets and looking around at the crater that they seemed to be standing in, both looking just as confused as he was. His eyes glided over two vertical scars on the woman's back that the blanket didn't quite cover as she turned on the spot. Something tickled at his mind. 

 

_ The scars are important.  _

 

The thought trickled away. 

 

_ Isabelle Lightwood. Jace Lightwood.  _ His brain supplied when the woman with dark hair and the man with blonde hair looked at him. It didn’t seem quite right but he accepted what his mind was telling him. A flicker of recognition flitted through him, leaving quicker than the breeze that passed him by. 

 

_ Your brother and sister.  _ Alec’s brain supplied. 

 

_ If you insist.  _ He thought. 

 

“Come with me, we have much work to do.”

 

Alec followed the others, looking around as he climbed up the edge of the crater. The mountains that seemed to surround them gave way in the distance, huge spires rising up between them. But that wasn’t what caught his eye. 

 

It was the mountains themselves. The mountains and the nearby lake. They tickled at his mind, seeming important somehow. He didn’t know why a lake or mountains would be important, he didn’t know much of anything. They just were. He looked around, expecting more but there was nothing.

 

“Who are you?” Alec asked when they started heading in the direction of the spires, skirting the lake.

 

“My name is Jonathan Shadowhunter. Welcome to Idris.”

 

Alec watched the Man called Jonathan, his brain telling him that he was forgetting something important. 

 

But those thoughts faded as he followed the others. 

  
  


_ ** _

 

Desolation.

 

Broken.

 

Bone deep loneliness.

 

_ Please let it end. _

 

_ I have to… _

 

_ Remember. _

 

A muffled groan escaped him, his broken, straining lungs burning with every cursed breath that scraped down his throat.  _ Why won’t it just end? It’s been too long. Hours or years.  _

 

The air lighting up around him. 

 

A bristle of energy against hir ruined skin.

 

_ Have to get out of here. _

 

White light descending upon him.

 

He lay still as the pain that wracked him started to fade when the white light caressed his body, sinking down into every broken bone, every blood vessel, soothing him, almost making him whole.

 

_ I don’t want to be whole, I want to be… I need…  _

 

He didn’t know what he needed, maybe it was just not to feel empty and broken, a brokenness that had nothing to do with the state of his body. He looked up when the white light faded and the last of the pain with it, a face coming into view. 

 

_ Ugh, smarmy. _

 

“Can you tell me who you are and why you are here?”

 

He blinked up at the man, taking an instant disliking. He tried to bat the hand away when it tilted his chin, but he was too weak. He stared up into a pair of brown eyes as they drew his gaze.

 

“I would recognise those eyes anywhere, just like your friend. Although, the woman’s eyes weren’t so familiar to me. Well, we will have to hide these, shouldn’t be too hard.”

 

He stared up at the muttering man, his fogged, empty brain trying to make sense of the man’s words. He jumped when the man waved a hand and he was suddenly clothed.  _ Wait, I was naked? _

 

“What is your name and why are you here?” 

 

“My name is… Magnus?” his brain had told him the name but it sounded like a question, even to his own ears. He tried to make his brain work but it didn’t want to cooperate.  _ Why am I here?  _ “I don’t know,” he said out loud.

 

“Magnus, I’ve been expecting you. I hear you were the bane of your… well, maybe it would make a suitable last name. Come along.”

 

Magnus wasn’t quite sure what the man was muttering about but accepted the hand when it reached for his own. He let go quickly when a spark jumped between their hands.

 

“Magic. Worry not, it is to be expected. You are a Warlock after all.”

 

Magnus didn’t know what a Warlock was but he reached out once more when the man offered his hand, sighing with relief when there were no more sparks, and let him pull him up. He eyed the man’s ponytail with distaste before a woman with red hair and a man with brown hair caught his eye. 

 

Maybe it was the fact that the two looked as lost and confused as he was, but he already much preferred these two to smarmy ponytail man. He shrugged and followed when smarmy started walking away, not sure why, it just seemed like the only option.

 

They climbed the side of the crater that they had been standing in, following after the shorter man and emerged into a meadow. 

 

Magnus’ teeth were instantly set on edge by the purple flowers that surrounded them. He looked closer, forgetting everything else around him as he inspected them with a deep dislike that he couldn’t explain. He glared at the dark purple berries that hung on the stems of flowers, not liking them at all.

 

“Come along, Magnus. The war wages on, as ever, and it seems that I have just gotten myself three extra pairs of hands.”

 

“Who are you, and why should I go anywhere with you?” Magnus asked when he turned to the man and saw the bright, glowing golden space behind him.

 

“How rude of me, I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Lorenzo Rey, and you should come with me because I am the High Warlock.”

 

Magnus didn’t know what a “High Warlock” was but his brain told him to go with the man so he stepped forward and accepted the arm that was held out to him.

 

“You might want to hold on. Portals can be tricky until you get used to them, wouldn’t want you getting lost now, would we?” Lorenzo asked as he led the three confused looking new Warlocks through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know I'm the worst. A lot happened there and I know it was a lot to take in. Hopefully, I haven't scared you off of the second part of the story. It will take them a while but I promise, Malec, Sizzy and Clace are end game so please keep that in mind. If you don't know me by now, my fics might be angst filled but I don't do unhappy endings, I just don't have it in me. See you soon, dears.

**Author's Note:**

> So that happened. Don't you just love the way they think they can resist one another? How long do you think that will last?
> 
> Please have a read of my Parabatri's works:
> 
> The Journey, by Tommy(me) {that's his name} it is an angst-filled, amazing Malec A/B/O that will finish you off and put you back together again!
> 
> Magnus Bane 101, by Heidi. A gorgeous fluff fest that will have you falling in love with Malec all over again!


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